Bad People
by Lyralocke
Summary: Kataang. Two years after the war, piracy has become a growing trend. A powerful crew, infamous for its mysterious captain, takes Aang and Katara captive in a twist of fate. But the pair soon learns that these pirates really aren't bad people.
1. Chapter 1

_I am now trying something new and different. A big long chapter story that I haven't actually finished. Yeah I know. If there are people reading it, it'll give me incentive to finish it._

_This isn't like the stuff I've written before, in that it actually has a plot and isn't a mindless emotional fluffy oneshot or short story. There will be emotion and perhaps some fluff later, I haven't decided, but there will also be character development and drama._

_Plus... original characters?! This is a story about pirates, so I had to make up some pirates._

_So, tell me what you think! It'll probably take me longer than usual to put up chapters, but bear with me._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 1

"Kwan! Kwan, wake up!"

Kwan ignored his little sister as she burst into his room. He was taking a nap, and she would just have to learn to be respectful. Unfortunately, that was when she decided to start shaking him.

"Kwan this is serious!" she squealed.

Kwan sat up abruptly. "What is it Lin?" he demanded grumpily.

"I was just down at the docks and-"

"What were you doing at the docks? It's almost sunset. You know what Dad said."

She just shook her head as though her father's rules didn't matter. "Would you listen?" she burst out in frustration.

"Why should I? I'm ten, you're six. I'm older and I was taking a nap."

"But Kwan, I saw the Raven's Shadow!"

Kwan stared at her. "Don't lie," he snapped.

"I'm not lying!" Lin squeaked frantically. "I saw a ship with black sails out near the reefs. You know the only ship with black sails on this sea is the Raven's Shadow."

Kwan didn't respond. She was right about that. "Well… did anyone else see it?"

"No, the fishermen all came in early today. The catch is always bad this month."

Kwan jumped to his feet and grabbed Lin's hand, not bothering to put on his shoes. "C'mon, we have to find Dad. If it really was the Raven's Shadow, we have to tell everyone," he said quickly, pulling her out of his room and running through the house. "The Demon of the Sea isn't known for showing mercy."

0000000

"So why exactly did we pass in clear view of the port?"

The Demon of the Sea smiled. "Keely, Keely," sighed the Demon. "If you are going to be a part of my crew, you will have to learn to trust me."

Keely tossed the Demon an appraising glance, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, sorry," she sighed, not sounding as though she meant it. "I'm just not used to your tactics."

"Of course you aren't," the Demon replied lightly. "Because you've never actually worked in a real crew. You and your friends are professional stowaways, Keely."

Keely let out a snort of laughter but didn't say anything.

"The dynamic of a real crew is something new, which is understandable," the Demon continued, unhindered. "But you must remember that you are no longer the gang leader, so to speak. So my authority is not to be questioned. Got it?"

Keely sighed. "Fine, sorry," she muttered, sounding at least somewhat sincere this time. "But may I ask why you use these tactics?"

The Demon smiled again. "That depends. Why are you asking?"

Keely shrugged. "Learning experience."

The Demon laughed. "Alright, but get Robin and Dodger first. Might as well make it a learning experience for everyone."

Keely smirked and walked away without another word, disappearing below deck. The Demon watched her with narrowed eyes, still not sure what to think of this girl and her two friends. They had crossed paths many times before, but the three of them had only recently joined the Demon's crew.

The trio emerged momentarily. First came Keely, the cool, calculating, dual-sword wielding firebender extraordinaire. Next was Robin, the quiet young martial artist from the Fire Nation, followed by Dodger, the trigger-happy waterbender permanently attached to his crossbow.

There was a rare smile on Robin's face. She and Keely were best friends and talked incessantly. Other than that, Robin was unusually quiet for a seventeen-year-old girl, especially when compared to Keely and Dodger.

"Alright, children, pay attention," the Demon said loudly, making them all stop in their tracks and glare. They didn't like being called children by someone only eight years older. "We passed in plain sight of the port town. Why?"

The three of them remained silent, Keely and Robin exchanging an exasperated glance.

"Because we are pirates," the Demon continued airily. "Not just pirates, but good pirates. We have honor, in some small dose. So we give the people an hour or two to prepare themselves before we attack. One, because it's more of a challenge and keeps us in shape. Two, because the plunder is so much more rewarding if we've fought for it. And three, because we're pirates. Giving them an hour's warning is the only decent thing we do."

"Aye!" Dodger roared, waving his crossbow in the air. The Demon stared at him. Keely and Robin rolled their eyes. Dodger glanced at them. "What?"

"Everyone understand?" the Demon sighed.

Keely shrugged. "Makes sense to me," she said simply, turning and walking up to the bow of the ship. Robin just smiled a little. Dodger glanced at her.

"So, uh, Robin…" he began, but she had already followed Keely.

The Demon laughed and clapped Dodger on the shoulder. "She'll hear you eventually."

"It's strange, isn't it?" Dodger replied. "How uh… normal we are, when we aren't off attacking people."

"It's not strange, kid," the Demon replied simply. "We're pirates, not platypus bears. There isn't a pirate in the world that wasn't a normal person at some point."

Dodger looked steadily at the Demon. "Normally I'd believe that, but coming from you?" he said with a grin.

The Demon fixed him with a level look. "You're hilarious."

"I try, Demon old pal," Dodger replied airily. "I try indeed. Now if you would excuse me, I have to make sure my crossbow is ready for some serious piracy tonight."

The Demon turned toward the port. The sun was setting behind it. There were few clouds in the sky. They would need to make their own cover.

"Dodger, get back here," the Demon said suddenly. Dodger stopped and turned. "I need you to help me make this ship invisible."

0000000

Kwan pulled his little sister by the hand, running through the town in a crouch. The sun had set, the moon was shining in the cloudless sky, and the town was quiet as everyone waited. The two children were racing to the docks in the shadows, hoping to remain unseen.

"Kwan, maybe we should go back home," Lin whispered nervously.

Kwan stopped and peered around a corner onto the street. "Don't you want to get a look at the Demon of the Sea?" he hissed back.

"Yeah…" Lin admitted slowly. "But won't we get killed?"

"Of course not," Kwan said quietly. "Dad and the other earthbenders and Earth Kingdom soldiers will protect us. They're all down at the docks waiting."

They darted around the corner and abruptly ran into somebody. The children were thrown to the ground, while the person they ran into just stumbled.

"Whoa, sorry. Are you okay?"

Kwan and Lin looked up. They both gasped in surprise.

"You… you're the Avatar!" Lin squealed in awe.

The young monk laughed a little, scratching the back of his conspicuously bald head. "Uh, yeah, but you can call me Aang." He extended a hand to Lin to help her up. A pretty girl with dark skin and bright blue eyes bent to help Kwan to his feet. A strange chattering lemur was balanced on her shoulder, blinking at the children curiously.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked kindly, smiling.

Kwan blushed, mumbling an affirmative as the Avatar helped Lin up. The children exchanged a look of pure excitement. The news of the Fire Lord's defeat at the hands of the Avatar had come just over two years ago. They had heard he'd been traveling the world since then, and here he was, the world's hero. The girl must have been Katara, the first female waterbending master in a century. There were as many stories being told about her as there were about Aang.

"What brings you here, Avatar Aang?" Lin piped.

"Well, my sky bison is sick, actually. He's been having trouble flying," the Avatar said with a sigh. "We think it's just from exhaustion, so we're resting here for a while. My friends are with him now."

"Sokka and Toph?" Kwan asked excitedly.

Katara and Aang laughed a little in embarrassment. "I keep forgetting we're all famous now," Katara admitted quietly. The lemur curled its tail around Katara's neck and rested its head tiredly on its front paws. Katara smiled a little, but made no more indication that she had noticed the lemur falling asleep on her shoulder.

"We were just wondering where everyone is," Aang continued, looking around the deserted street. "We're camping on the outskirts of town, and we haven't seen anybody all evening."

"Everybody is inside," Lin said in a hushed voice. "All the soldiers and earthbenders are down at the docks. I saw a pirate ship right before sunset."

"Pirates?" Katara said sharply, exchanging a meaningful glance with the Avatar. "We've had some dealings with pirates before. They could be here for us."

"You've seen the Demon of the Sea?" Kwan whispered, awestruck.

Judging by the blank looks on the pair's faces, they had dealt with different pirates.

"Who?" Aang asked after a long pause.

"The Demon of the Sea," Kwan repeated. "The terror of the western waters. The Demon's ship, the Raven's Shadow, is the only ship this half of the world with black sails. Lin saw black sails, so we know it's them."

"Take us to the docks, please," the Avatar said seriously. "We're going to help your town."

Kwan and Lin grinned. "Okay, follow us!" Kwan said, excited to now have a good reason to go to the docks without permission. The two of them ran off, the Avatar and the waterbender hot on their heels.

0000000

"You see that, Kwei?"

Kwei, the father on Kwan and Lin, squinted into the dark port. Something was growing on the horizon. Something large and amorphous, crawling across the water. Kwei glanced at his fellow earthbender.

"Yeah, I see it. Fog?" he replied quietly.

The other man shook his head. "Looks like it, but fog doesn't move like that on its own."

"Well, pirates usually have at least one waterbender in their crew," Kwei pointed out darkly.

"One waterbender couldn't do that."

"Oh, that's not true. I could do that," said an unmistakably young female voice.

The men turned around in surprise. A young woman with a sleeping lemur on her shoulder was standing behind them, peering out at the fog moving quickly toward the docks. The men's eyes flicked from the girl to the children next to her, then to the young man beside them.

"Kwan? Lin? What are you doing here?" Kwei asked seriously.

"Dad, we brought the Avatar!" Lin said excitedly. The men looked at the boy again. He smiled and waved a little. Kwei glanced back at the girl.

"This is my friend, Katara," the boy said. Katara smiled.

"And you are Avatar Aang?" Kwei asked, looking back at the boy. He nodded. Kwei grinned and shook Aang's hand merrily. "Well you picked a wonderful time to arrive." He bent and kissed Katara's hand. "Thank you."

"Oh, no need to thank us," Katara said, laughing a little in embarrassment. "It's our job."

"So what can you tell us about the Demon of the Sea?" Aang asked.

"One moment," Kwei said quickly, crouching before his children. "Well done, you two. Thank you for helping the Avatar. Now I want you to go home."

"But Dad-"

"It's not safe here," he continued quietly. "We will do our best to defend the village, but I can't do that if I'm worrying about you. So go home where it's safe, okay?"

Kwan sighed heavily. "Fine," he grumbled, grabbing Lin's hand and stalking off down the street. Lin turned and took one last look at Aang and Katara before they disappeared around a corner.

Kwei smiled. "They're good kids. Just a little too curious for their own good sometimes."

Aang, fifteen years old and still too curious for his own good, just nodded. Katara caught his eye and they both grinned.

"Right, the Demon of the Sea," Kwei said, causing them both to look away from each other quickly and blush a little as though they had been caught doing something bad. "Apparently, no one outside the Raven's crew has ever actually seen the Demon and lived to tell the tale."

"Oh… good," Aang said with a sigh.

"Is he a bender?" Katara asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Kwei said, shrugging. "All I know for sure is that the Demon has a special weapon. I don't know what it is, but I've heard it's deadlier in the Demon's hands than an arrow to your head."

"What about the crew?" Aang asked warily.

"Like no pirates you've ever faced," Kwei said grimly. "They're the elite. Weapons, martial arts, benders from all three nations, you name it, they've got it."

"Is there anything they're known for?" Katara sighed, grasping at straws. "Do they take prisoners or do they just loot and raze?"

"They don't kill civilians," the man beside Kwei said. "Only those who get in their way. They generally don't raze. But they do a lot of pillaging and looting."

"So they only kill people who fight back," Aang clarified slowly. He turned to Katara. "Maybe I should just go out and see if I can make a deal with them."

"No, Aang, don't," Katara said immediately, a touch of pleading in her voice. "I think that qualifies as getting in their way. I don't want you to die."

Aang smiled at her. "Okay, I'll stay here," he said simply. She smiled back. Kwei watched them curiously. The Avatar had introduced this girl as his friend, but there was something slightly more than friendly about the two of them.

Katara looked back at the bay. "It might be too late, anyway," she sighed. The fog was creeping up the docks, obscuring the port in a thick cloud. She reached up and gave the lemur a gentle poke to the side. "Wake up, Momo. We've got a fight on our hands." The lemur spread its arms, revealing wings. He jumped from her shoulder and took off into the night sky, spiraling overhead. Katara smiled at the Avatar. "Aang, shall we?"

Aang nodded. The two of them stood side-by-side and took a simultaneous deep breath. They both, turned, and with a great pushing motion, the fog was blown back out into the ocean, revealing the dark hull of a great ship with black sails.

And at the ends of the docks, pouring out of several identical longboats, was the crew of the Raven's Shadow.

* * *

_I'd just like to point out that Keely, Dodger, Robin, and the Demon are borrowed ideas. There's a girl on deviantArt (fencingamer6) who drew a scene from my oneshot _Maybe It Isn't Only the Music,_ and she made up some pirates in a Caribbean setting a while ago. I've adapted them to Avatar, with her permission of course._

_Here are the links, just put the punctuation in place of the parentheses:_

http (Colon) (Slash) (Slash) fencingamer6 (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Bad (Hyphen) People (Hyphen) Keely (Hyphen) 68852080

http (Colon) (Slash) (Slash) fencingamer6 (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Bad (Hyphen) People (Hyphen) Dodger (Hyphen) 68852241

http (Colon) (Slash) (Slash) fencingamer6 (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Bad (Hyphen) People (Hyphen) Robin (Hyphen) 68852392

http (Colon) (Slash) (Slash) fencingamer6 (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Bad (Hyphen) People (Hyphen) Demon (Hyphen) 68852663

_And here is another piece of art she just did, featuring those crazy pirate kids:_

http (Colon) (Slash) (Slash) fencingamer6 (dot) deviantart (dot) com (slash) art (slash) Bad (Hyphen) People (Hyphen) The (Hyphen) Cerberus (Hyphen) 71921770

_Many thanks to FG!_


	2. Chapter 2

_See? I told you this would take longer. Sorry. Um uh... here it is?_

* * *

CHAPTER 2

Kwei had not been lying when he had said this crew had everything.

There were waterbenders, earthbenders, firebenders, pirates wielding swords, spears, daggers, crossbows, every type of attack imaginable was unleashed on the men of the town. Aang and Katara were careful never to lose sight of each other in the fray. This had become second nature to them after fighting side-by-side for three years.

The whole time, Momo circled overhead, occasionally pouncing on the head of an unlucky pirate and taking them by surprise.

Aang took notice of the little things going on around him as he and Katara fought back-to-back. These pirates weren't the old, unwashed brutes he had expected. They were primarily young, able-bodied warriors. And they didn't seem to be actually trying to kill anybody. When possible, they used non-lethal attacks, knocking their opponents unconscious or just throwing them out of the way. A few men had been killed, but only because if they hadn't been killed, the pirate facing them would have died.

"They're not killing everybody," Aang said in Katara's ear as he turned and swept his staff along the ground, knocking a nearby axe-wielding pirate off his feet. "I think all they want is the loot."

"I noticed that too," Katara replied quickly, not sparing much of her concentration to talk.

Aang turned around and found himself face-to-face with a pretty young woman, probably within a year or two of Katara's age. Her skin had the appearance of having once been fair, but having darkened into a permanent tan from a long time at sea. Her hair hung around her shoulders in a kind of controlled chaos; it looked as though it had been shaped into waves by years and years of salty wind. It had once been darker, Aang could tell, but the sun had bleached it lighter brown. Her eyes, narrowed in a smirk, were the unmistakable amber of the Fire Nation.

"Well well, if it isn't the Avatar," she said, sounding amused. "We definitely shouldn't kill you."

"Why not?" Aang responded coolly, hands tightening on his staff. The girl didn't look as though she was going to attack him. Her two swords were hanging at her waist and her arms were crossed over her chest, one foot tapping nonchalantly on the ground as she looked him up and down.

"Because you are far too valuable, my friend," she continued airily. "No, the Demon will want you alive for sure."

Before Aang could respond, he felt Katara being pulled away from her position against his back. The next thing he knew, a sharp pain raced down his spine, the ground was rushing up to meet him, and everything went dark.

0000000

Katara shook her head briskly. She had been fighting a waterbender with a crossbow when someone had come out of nowhere and thrown her away from Aang. She landed on her knees on the ground and turned around just in time to see the same girl who had attacked her close in on Aang. She was skinny and tan, with long hair of a bright blonde color Katara had never seen before tied back in a ponytail.

Before Katara's surprised eyes, the girl delivered a sharp blow to the back of Aang's neck. He fell forward, instantly unconscious. Katara was on her feet in seconds, but the girl Aang had been speaking to drew one of her swords and pressed it to Aang's neck. She glanced up at Katara, fixing her with a cool, calculating stare.

"I won't kill him," she said calmly. "But there's nothing to stop me from maiming him if you come any closer."

Katara dropped her hands to her sides. The girl grinned.

"There's a good sport," she said lightly. The blonde girl glanced at her as well, but didn't say anything. Katara wasn't sure where to go from there. Luckily, she didn't have to ponder it long. A dull pain to the back of her head was all the warning she had before she joined Aang on the ground.

0000000

Keely watched the waterbender crumple to the ground. She looked up at Dodger, who was standing over her.

"You hit her with your crossbow," Keely said flatly. Dodger shrugged. "Projectile weapon and blunt instrument. No wonder you love that thing so much."

"Oh, now you see logic? After seven years at sea together?" Dodger said sarcastically, pulling a coil of rope from his belt and kneeling beside the girl he had just clubbed. He looked at her carefully before pulling her hands behind her back and winding the rope around her wrists. "She's pretty."

Robin glanced at him sharply as she bent to tie up the Avatar.

"I suppose if this is Avatar Aang, she must be that Katara girl we've heard so much about," Keely said nonchalantly. "First female waterbender in a century, ha."

"At least you're not bitter," Dodger snorted, twisting the rope around her hands so she couldn't waterbend.

"I'm not," Keely shot back, leaning down to tie the Avatar's ankles together. "Pirates just don't get enough credit. We've accomplished a lot, and nobody knows about it." Robin nodded slightly, tying the boy's hands just like Dodger had tied the girl's.

"Funny, I feel like we've had this conversation before," Dodger muttered, getting to his feet and slinging the waterbender over his shoulder.

"That doesn't mean I'm wrong," Keely replied in a sing-song voice, throwing the Avatar over her shoulder with greater strength than she appeared to possess.

"Back to the ship, then?" Dodger said with a sigh.

"What, upset that you didn't get to kill anyone?" Keely snorted. Robin laughed lightly, making Dodger blush.

"Oh give it a rest," he growled, stomping back toward the dock. Keely and Robin exchanged a glance.

That was when the lemur attacked.

"What the-"

Robin snatched the protesting creature out of the air with surprising reflexes. She looked at it in confusion.

"Is this the Avatar's?" she asked Keely quietly.

Keely shrugged. "Must be. Just tie it up and bring it along," she said, watching curiously as it struggled in Robin's hands. Robin used the remaining rope from binding the Avatar and tied the lemur in a bundle, leaving only its head exposed. Keely hefted the Avatar higher on her shoulder and the two girls dodged through the battle, racing through the shadows down to the dock.

0000000

"Dad! Dad, wake up!"

Kwei opened his eyes slowly. Lin and Kwan's faces swam into view, pale in the morning sunlight.

"Dad, you're alive!"

Kwei sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around slowly. The sun had begun to rise. Most of the townspeople were out and about, cleaning up from the wreckage of the night before. There wasn't much damage of any kind to the town itself, but there were a great deal of minor injuries and a lot of unconscious people in the streets.

Kwan and Lin hugged their father happily, and he laughed and hugged them back. Another soldier walked past, and Kwei stopped him.

"How many did we lose?" he asked quietly.

"Just three so far," the soldier replied.

Kwei's eyebrow shot up. "Wow, I was expecting a lot worse," he admitted. "And the Avatar?"

"Well…"

"Hey, buddy, out of the way!"

The soldier was abruptly shoved aside by a diminutive young woman dressed primarily in green. She was very skinny, giving the impression of having grown a great deal in a short amount of time. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt. She bent down, and Kwei suddenly found himself face-to-face with her, staring into the blank eyes of the Blind Bandit.

"What were you saying about the Avatar?" she asked abruptly. "Where are they? Where are Aang and Katara?"

"Um…"

"Toph! Leave the nice man alone!"

A tall young man with dark skin and a great deal of lean muscle visible on his arms grabbed the young woman's elbow and pulled her away from him.

"Sorry, we're both just a little worried," the young man said. "I'm Sokka, and this is Toph. The Avatar is my friend, and the girl that was with him is my little sister."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kwei said quietly. "I haven't seen the Avatar or your sister since the fight started."

The one named Toph let out a frustrated groan and stomped away. Sokka just sighed.

"That's okay, thanks anyway," he said as he followed her.

Kwei sighed and pulled his children closer. The pirates were gone, but it seemed as though they had taken more than just treasure with them.

0000000

"Helloooo… first female waterbender in a century… would you wake up already?"

Katara's only response was to groan. Her head hurt. A lot. She opened her eyes a little.

"Geez, finally. Welcome back, princess."

Katara shook her head and blinked. She didn't know where she was, but she was sitting on a wood floor leaning against a crate. Aang was beside her, snoring quietly. Both of them were bound at the wrists and ankles. His head was on her shoulder.

"Okay, over here, let's focus, shall we?"

Katara looked up. That girl from before… the one with the two swords… she was sitting in front of her in the lotus position, smirking slightly. Katara spared her only a glance, noting vaguely that this girl was barely a year older than her. She looked past her and saw with some surprise that they were not, as she had thought, in a room. They were in fact on the deck of a ship, covered in morning sunlight. From what Katara could tell, they were beneath a staircase on the main deck near the cabin door.

"You're… that girl…" Katara muttered.

"Yes, yes I am that girl," she replied, sounding slightly amused. "And you're uh…" The girl turned around. "Hey, Dodge! What's her name again?"

The waterbender Katara had been fighting last night with the crossbow strapped across his back stopped halfway across the deck. He was tall and dark-skinned with muscle that was obvious but not obnoxious. "Katara, her name is Katara, how many times do we have to tell you?" he shouted.

The girl turned back. "Right, yes, you are Katara," she continued. "And this boy next to you is Avatar Aang."

"So?" Katara said crossly. Her wrists and ankles were very sore, and she was in no mood to be pleasant with pirates.

"So, that's why you're still alive," the girl said airily, smiling. "The Demon of the Sea doesn't take prisoners, but for you, we made an exception."

"Why?"

The girl laughed. "You guys seriously don't realize how valuable you are?" she asked, genuinely amused. "Even with the Fire Nation being peaceful now, there are a thousand people who would pay handsomely for you and your boyfriend."

"He's not my-"

"Don't care," the girl cut her off, sounding bored. "Could you wake him up, please? I've been trying for hours. He seems pretty comfortable." Katara didn't respond. The girl sighed. "Look, I'll be right back, okay? Please just wake him up."

The girl got to her feet and disappeared from view. Katara sighed and glanced at Aang, still snoring on her shoulder. She shifted slightly, trying to move him.

"Aang, wake up," she whispered. "Come on, wake up."

That was all it took. He yawned and sat up, blinking owlishly. He looked at her.

"Hey, Katara."

Katara smiled. "Hey, Aang. You okay?"

He squirmed a bit, cracking his neck and shifting his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm fine. What about you?"

Katara shrugged. "Kinda sore," she said simply. Aang looked around slowly, taking everything in very calmly. "Sokka and Toph are probably worried sick."

"Yeah…" Aang muttered. They fell silent, staring out over the deck at the endless sky and sea beyond. "So… what happened?"

"I dunno, just woke up," Katara replied quietly. "We appear to be captives. But there's something weird about these pirates."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… the one I talked to just seemed so…" she trailed off, searching for the right word. "Normal."

"Normal?"

"Yeah, like she's just a regular girl."

Aang thought for a moment. "Could be a trick, you know, get us to let our guard down."

"Yeah, I guess…" Katara scooted closer to his side and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You uh… you okay?" Aang asked, surprised.

"Tired…" she sighed simply, closing her eyes. Aang blushed and leaned his head against hers.

"Me too…" he lied.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three is nigh! I think a few questions are answered here._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 3

"Aw, isn't that just the sweetest picture."

A heap of clothes dropped to the deck in front of Aang and Katara. The girl had returned. She crouched in front of them, smirking, as always. Katara lifted her head from Aang's shoulder.

"I'll untie you," the girl began. "You'll put these on." She gestured to the clothes. "And I'll tell you what the deal is. Clear?"

"Not clear," Aang said quickly. "What's going on here?"

The girl sighed and sat down. "Fine, I'll tell you what the deal is now," she sounded irritated. "Now listen closely. No interruptions. Got it?"

They both simply nodded.

"Okay. You have both been kidnapped, obviously. By pirates. You are currently on our ship, the Raven's Shadow. We are at sea. Far, far at sea. This is the fastest ship in the western world. We can outrun the Fire Navy, no joke."

Aang and Katara exchanged a glance, but didn't say a word.

"So as I see it, you have two options. You could try to escape. We will stop you, obviously. I understand that you are both very powerful benders, so I won't be irrational and say that we could easily defeat the two of you. I'm open to the possibility that you'll take us all down. However, if you do that, you'll have to get the ship to land all by yourselves while at the same time restraining every pirate on this ship. You will fail, and we will just tie you up again. Possibly injure you if you get annoying. That's option one."

She was met with silence, so she continued.

"Option two. You put on these clothes. You do as I say. You behave. You work. Observe. Learn. Better yourselves. With this option, you will get to land alive. And in one piece," she paused, looking calmly between the two of them. "Now it's still your choice, but really, let's be honest, there's not much stopping me from just killing the girl here right now if you choose the former."

Aang's eyes narrowed dangerously. Katara's expression remained impassive.

"So what'll it be?"

They glanced at each other.

"What're the clothes for?" Katara asked.

"The clothes are here under the assumption that you will choose the second option," the girl replied. "If you're going to be working on a pirate ship, you'll need proper attire. The clothes you're wearing won't hold up."

Katara nodded silently. Aang sighed.

"Okay, fine. Untie us and tell us where to change," he said quietly.

"That's the spirit," the girl said with a grin. She reached for the bindings around Katara's ankles first, simply closing a fist around the rope. Smoke drifted from her closed palm, and the rope fell away.

"You're a firebender?" Aang asked in surprise.

The girl glanced at him as she burned through the rope on Katara's hands. "Obviously," she said simply. Aang frowned and waited silently for her to untie him as well. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," Aang replied simply.

"So why didn't you already burn through these?"

"I've learned from experience that when you're captive on a ship and someone you care about is tied up next to you, freeing yourself just because you can isn't always the best option."

Katara smiled. Keely did the same, impressed. "Well well, you're the Avatar after all," she laughed. "Bending and wisdom in a bald fifteen-year-old package." Aang wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't. She busied herself finishing with his ropes.

"Okay, there you go," she said, standing up and resting her hands on her hips. She opened the door beside them. "Change in the cabin. You have five minutes. If you touch anything, I'll know."

"Wait… there's only one room in there," Aang said, peering through the door.

"So?"

"So, Katara and I can't change together."

"Take turns."

"That'll take more than five minutes."

"Well five minutes is all you get, so you better find a way."

"But-"

"Just face opposite directions, geez, this isn't that difficult," the girl said, rolling her eyes. "Oh, by the way, your lemur's in there."

"You got Momo too?" Aang asked, but the girl had already walked away.

"Five minutes!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Aang sighed and bent down, picking up the clothes. He handed some to Katara, blushing. "Well… we'd better change then."

"Yep."

He waited for her to walk in and followed her silently, closing the door behind them. The room was small, dark, and very cluttered, full of scrolls, maps, books, and all matter of strange trinkets.

"The captain's cabin…" Aang noted quietly.

"Okay, uh… I'll change over here," Katara muttered, pointing to one side of the room. "You go over there."

Aang nodded mutely, moving to his designated side of the room. They turned resolutely away from each other.

"So… what do you think?" Katara's voice said softly from the other side of the room.

Aang had to stop himself from turning to respond. "Well… we have to do what they say for now," he replied quietly, pulling on the new clothes. They were of a heavier cloth than his normal clothes. This confused him, since it would be a great deal hotter in the western sea, but then he noticed that the clothing showed a lot more skin. He had no sleeves or shoes to speak of. All of the pirates on this ship seemed to go barefoot.

"I wonder what'll happen when we get to shore," Katara sighed. Aang had finished dressing and couldn't help but glance over his shoulder. He turned bright red from his ears to his toes. Katara wasn't quite finished yet. Aang was presented with a view of her completely bare back. It wasn't much, but it left a lot of room for his mind to wander. He turned around quickly.

"Um… uh… I dunno," he stammered. He stared at his feet, waiting for the blush to recede. On the ground beside his foot was an old bandana he had missed from the pile of clothing. He tied it around his head, covering his arrow. Just in case.

"Aang, are you okay?"

There was suddenly a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned. Katara had finished dressing. Her clothing was similar to his; heavy cloth, lots of skin. He blushed again.

"Yeah, I'm fine… hey wait, where's Momo?" Aang looked around quickly. Katara shrugged and started pulling her hair back into several long braids as she moved carefully around the room, searching. Aang glanced under all of the tables, finally getting to the desk.

"Momo!"

Aang pulled the sleeping lemur out of a cage under the desk. Momo immediately jumped to Aang's shoulder excitedly. Aang grinned.

"Aang, this is perfect!" Katara said suddenly. "We can use Momo to get a message to Sokka and Toph!"

"Hey, you're right!" Aang said excitedly. Katara grabbed a scrap of paper and a brush from the desk, scribbling a note to Sokka and Toph. She tied it to Momo's leg and opened one of the shuttered windows at the back of the room.

"Can you find your way back, buddy?" Aang asked. Momo chattered an affirmative. "Great. We're counting on you, Momo." The lemur jumped out the window. Aang and Katara watched him soar out of sight and shut the window quickly.

Aang glanced at Katara to thank her for the idea, but he stopped. She had finished with her hair. It was tied in four long braids down her back and pulled back in a bandana.

"You… you've never worn your hair like that before…" he muttered, blushing again.

"Oh, yeah," she laughed, a blush of her own forming. "You like it?"

"Yes, I mean… yeah, it looks, uh… you look…"

"Knock knock!"

The door burst open. The two of them jumped. The girl was smirking at them from the doorway.

"Nice threads," she said lightly. "Now get out here, it's time for you to meet the Demon of the Sea."

0000000

"Here they come," Dodger said with a grin, watching as Keely walked toward them with a very nervous Avatar and a very nervous Avatar's friend behind her. Robin watched curiously with a smile.

Keely grinned back at the two of them. They stood on either side of the Demon, who was facing away from them, looking out at sea.

"Well, here they are," Keely said, stepping aside. Aang and Katara looked up nervously.

The Demon turned around.

Aang's mouth dropped open. Katara's eyes went wide.

"You're a girl?!" they gasped in unison.

The Demon grinned. "You know, every time I get that reaction, it just gets funnier," she said lightly, hands on her hips.

"You… you're a…" Katara stammered, still in shock.

"A girl," the Demon finished for her. "Yeah, I think we've established that."

The two of them kept staring. The name Demon was very misleading. She was tall and slender, with dark skin and darker hair held back in loose braids. She was wearing what appeared to be the upper section of some old Water Tribe armor as a top, her midriff was bare, and she had no sleeves or shoes. She had two staffs strapped across her back, one of which Aang recognized as his own.

"You're… young," Aang added.

"Twenty-five and still kicking," she said, now starting to sound annoyed. "What, did these stowaways make me sound old?" She shot a dark look at Keely, Dodger, and Robin.

"No I just… I just expected you to be a… big scary old guy," Aang admitted awkwardly.

"Well… joke's on you then," the Demon said coolly. "Are we done?"

They both nodded mutely.

"Good. So, you've met Keely," she said, gesturing to the girl they'd spoken to all morning. They nodded again. "This is Dodger, and this is Robin. You will do everything they tell you unless I say otherwise. Understood?"

They nodded.

"You do not nod to me, you say yes."

"Yes."

"Yes _captain_."

"Yes, captain."

"Fantastic," she said simply, striding past them. "Dodger, Robin, get them scrubbing. Keely, come with me, we've got navigating to do." Keely saluted them quickly and ran after her. The Demon started shouting orders as she went. "Alright, everybody up, let's move it! I want wind in those sails, now. We've got a lot of distance to cover. Why don't I have a telescope on the east? Get your sorry asses up, people, let's go!"

Aang and Katara watched, wide eyed, as the deck was flooded with young pirates. There were only about fifteen of them, all young and fit, and not one of them was more than a few years older than the Demon.

"She mentioned uh… something about scrubbing?" Katara muttered in Aang's ear.

"Right you are," Dodger said, shoving a bucket of water into Aang's hands. "You're both waterbenders, right? See this deck? It will be clean by noon." Aang and Katara stared at him. "Just don't get in anybody's way, got it?"

"Right…"

Keely's voice came floating out from behind them. "Robin, Dodge, I need some help!"

Dodger punched Aang in the shoulder in what he assumed to be a friendly gesture, sloshing water down his front. "Good luck, Avatar," he said with an air of great seriousness. He turned to Katara and winked at her. "You too, Gorgeous."

Katara stared at him, blushing slightly. Aang and Robin both glared at Dodger as he walked away. Robin shot a glance at Katara as she strode past, but didn't say a word.

"So uh… I guess we should get washing," Katara said simply.

"Yeah," Aang replied shortly.

Katara glanced at him curiously. "So… do you want to work together or…?"

"Yes," Aang blurted. Katara smiled at him. He blushed. "I just uh… like waterbending with you."

"I know," she replied gently. "I like waterbending with you too."

Aang grinned. "I know," he replied. "Come on, let's get started.

The Demon watched silently as the pair began washing the deck together, moving in unison as they waterbended in a leisurely way, talking quietly.

"They seem surprisingly calm about being the captives of pirates," Dodger muttered suspiciously, peering around the Demon's shoulder.

"Well, he is the Avatar," Keely said distractedly, watching as well. Robin stood silently by, eyes following the two of them. "Before the war was over, he was captured by the Fire Nation about a thousand times."

"What about the girl? She's just as calm as he is," Dodger pointed out.

"She's calm because he's calm," the Demon said suddenly. She turned to Dodger. "You are forbidden to flirt with that girl. Got it?"

"Whoa whoa, time out, since when are you in charge of who I flirt with?" Dodger demanded. The Demon fixed him with a cool stare.

"Since right now," she replied, her voice a chilling deadpan. "And the next time you take that tone, make sure you aren't speaking to your captain, or there will be consequences." She turned to Robin. "Keep an eye on them." She glanced at Dodger. "And him."

Robin nodded, smiling a little. "Yes, captain." Dodger scowled as the Demon walked away, Keely not far behind.

"I can flirt with that girl if I want to, what's it to her?" he muttered mutinously.

"The Avatar loves her," Robin said quietly. "She doesn't want to give him a reason to get angry and use the Avatar State. He could destroy the ship."

"What… he loves her?" Dodger repeated, doing a double take and looking at Aang and Katara again. "How would you know that? They've only been awake for like an hour."

She shrugged. "The Demon pointed it out to me," she admitted quietly. "Said it was a waterbender thing. I should be asking you."

Dodger looked hard at the two of them. "I suppose… when two people waterbend together, there's a kind of connection," he muttered. "I waterbend with the Demon all the time. It's like… the energy flows between us. I guess the flow of energy between them is different. I noticed that when we were fighting them last night. Maybe that's it."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Right, some waterbender you are," she sighed. "Can't even see what's right in front of your face."

She walked away, leaving Dodger staring after her. "Oh, so you talk directly to me for the first time in a week, and all I get is an insult," he shouted after her. "You are very frustrating."

"Back at you, Dodge," she replied from across the deck, vanishing down the staircase to the galley.

Dodger grinned. "She'll hear me eventually," he said quietly to no one in particular.


	4. Chapter 4

_Just to warn all ye readers, the next chapter might take a little longer than the others have. I'm swamped right now. But it will continue. It might just take another day or two._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 4

"You know, that Dodger guy made it sound like this would be really difficult," Aang said lightly as he and Katara continued waterbending together, effectively wiping the deck clean. "Are we doing something wrong?"

"I don't think so," Katara responded with a shrug. "And if we are, it's entirely your fault."

"Ouch," Aang said with a large fake wince. Katara laughed, and Aang joined her after a few seconds.

"No laughing," Dodger barked from somewhere out of sight. Aang and Katara glanced at each other, stifling their laughs behind their hands.

"Is it weird that we're both so calm about this?" Aang asked at length, watching more grime wash overboard with the water.

"I don't think so… I mean, they're just pirates," Katara replied thoughtfully. "Let's be honest, we've been captured by worse."

"Fair point," Aang sighed. He wiped his hands on his pants and looked around. "I think we're finished."

Katara glanced up at the sun, high in the sky. "And not a moment too soon," she muttered.

"Noon," Dodger shouted, bursting up onto the deck. "You'd better be…" He looked around at the clean deck. "Done. Well… looks like you can at least obey orders."

"Oh leave them alone, Dodger," Keely seemed to materialize beside them, sliding up onto the deck with as much sound as a pygmy panther. "They cleaned the deck and nobody's been killed yet. I think they're getting along rather famously."

"What next?" Aang asked.

Keely smiled pleasantly at them, though she naturally narrowed her eyes and ended up smirking. "We have some lunch," she said with a shrug. "Come below decks, I'll find you some food."

The three of them walked past Dodger, who was watching them suspiciously as they descended below the deck. Robin stepped up beside him.

"Why is Keely being so nice to them?" Dodger asked curiously.

Robin gave him a long look. "I don't know," she replied slowly, but there was a thoughtful tone to her voice that made Dodger look at her. "I think the Demon has a plan."

"What kind of plan?"

"I don't know," she said again. "But… she has something in store for the Avatar."

"Yeah… I thought there was something she wasn't telling us," Dodger said, nodding. "Does it bother you that she's training Keely more than us?"

"No," Robin replied easily. "Keely was made for this. It's the way her mind works."

Dodger nodded again. "True…"

"Does it bother you?"

"It did, but I'm getting used to it."

Robin opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent. Dodger glanced at her again. "All talked out for today?" he asked gently.

Robin looked down and nodded. Dodger placed a comforting hand on her back. She glanced at him, smiling just a bit before she walked away.

0000000

Aang and Katara ate silently, surrounded by young pirates. They were all talking and laughing as they ate, gracefully ignoring the young Avatar and his companion. The two of them watched, taking it all in, occasionally glancing at each other with curious smiles.

The galley began to clear, and quiet descended upon them. Aang wasn't used to silence, so he took initiative.

"So does that Dodger guy remind you of Sokka, or is it just me?"

"I'm so glad you said something," Katara burst out, turning to him with a grin of relief. "He is absolutely _just_ like Sokka."

"Who's Sokka?" one of the few remaining pirates asked. Katara and Aang looked at her in surprise. She wasn't as tan as most of the others, though still a great deal darker than Aang. She had bright green eyes and freckles splashed across her face. She couldn't have been a day over thirteen. She was the first pirate they had come across whom Aang was older than.

The two boys she was sitting with looked over curiously, waiting for Katara or Aang to respond. They looked like brothers, both around the same age as the girl.

"Um… my brother," Katara responded. "My older brother."

"Oh, well if he's anything like Dodger, I'm sorry," the girl laughed. Aang turned his laugh into a cough, and Katara, smirking, elbowed him in the ribs.

"So how's it going, being the new kids and all?" one of the boys asked.

Katara and Aang exchanged a glance. "We're not pirates," Aang said.

The girl laughed. "Piracy is a state of mind, Avatar Aang," she said good-naturedly, getting to her feet. "Something to think about."

With a wave and a quick "See you later!" the girl and the brothers departed. Aang and Katara were left alone in the room, sitting quite still and staring at the door.

"Did that… just happen?" Aang finally said.

"You mean an extremely normal conversation with a thirteen-year-old pirate?" Katara responded blankly.

"Good, so I didn't just imagine it."

"They're just… normal kids," Katara continued thoughtfully. "They're just like us, aren't they? I mean… Dodger is just like Sokka. And Keely… well… she has definitely had some Toph-like moments…"

"I don't get it," Aang said quietly. "Pirates are bad guys… aren't they?"

"Something to think about."

The two of them looked up. Keely had reappeared, leaning on the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh… um… sorry, I didn't mean…"

Keely waved a hand at them. "Psh, I don't care if you think we're bad guys," she snorted. "We did kidnap you."

"She's got us there," Aang murmured in Katara's ear. She laughed and Keely rolled her eyes.

"Oh for the love of… would you two 'best friends' please cut it out? Lunch is over," Keely groaned, putting highly exaggerated air quotes around the words "best friends."

Aang and Katara didn't even spare her a blush. "So what's our next assignment?" Aang asked, getting to his feet and offering Katara a hand. She didn't need help to get out of her seat, and he knew it, but she took it anyway, smiling.

"Come on, follow me," Keely sighed, moving back up the stairs and into the afternoon sunlight flooding the deck. "So what do you think so far?"

"Of what?" Katara asked, looking around at the hustle and bustle on deck with mild interest. The girl from before caught her eye and waved at her. Katara waved back, baffled.

"Of the pirate life," Keely exclaimed, turning toward them and spreading her arms wide.

"Well… I have no opinion yet," Aang said officiously. "We've only been pirates for about twelve hours, half of which we were unconscious for."

"Oh, so you're calling yourself a pirate now?" Katara asked, smirking at him.

"No, I'm calling both of us pirates," Aang replied airily. "It's kind of exciting, isn't it? Being an outlaw."

Keely laughed derisively and they both looked at her. "Please. You cleaned the deck. You aren't pirates," she sighed, shaking her head. "Not yet, anyway."

"I thought piracy was a state of mind," Aang said with a grin.

"It is," Keely agreed. "And you don't have it."

Suddenly, the Demon strode out on deck and stopped right in the center. "Gather round, pirates," she shouted, bringing the ship to immediate silence. "It's everyone's favorite time of the week."

There was a loud groan throughout the ranks.

"Aw, sorry, children, but I am the captain here, and I am keeping you all in shape," the Demon continued loudly. "Sparring time." She looked around the crew with a grin. "Who wants a turn?"

A ringing silence followed.

"I do."

Everyone looked over. Aang stepped up next to the Demon, smiling pleasantly. The Demon, surprised, grinned in amusement.

"Aang, what are you doing?" Katara hissed.

"I'm getting into a pirate state of mind," he replied quietly, grinning at her. She sighed, shaking her head in mild exasperation.

"Who's my opponent?" Aang asked the Demon.

The Demon thought for a moment, looking around at a very wary group of pirates. She grinned.

"Me."

More ringing silence. Aang cocked his head to the side.

"Are you always the opponent?" he asked the Demon curiously.

"She's never the opponent," Dodger answered for her.

The Demon shrugged. "This would be the first time," she admitted, pulling the two staffs from her back and handing Aang his own. Aang looked at her staff, confused. It was slightly shorter than his, but other than the curious designs near each end it looked like a regular staff. Hadn't Kwei said the Demon used a special weapon deadlier than an arrow to the head?

"Aang… be careful…" Katara whispered in his ear as the pirates backed away, closing Aang, Katara, and the Demon in a circle.

"Don't worry," Aang said simply, gesturing for her to back away. For a moment, it looked as though she would resist. But she sighed and backed away, standing between Keely and Dodger.

The pirates fell silent as Aang and the Demon faced each other. The Demon spun her staff in her hands, getting the feel of it. She hadn't been in battle in a while; she was out of practice.

"Isn't that staff also a glider?" Dodger muttered to Keely.

"Yeah, why?"

"What's stopping him from just taking off?"

"Same reason they didn't just waterbend themselves out of here. Miles and miles of ocean in every direction with no sense of where land is." Keely smirked. "Besides, he'd never leave his darling Katara here, Dodger," she whispered, careful not to let Katara hear. "If he tries to take her, we stop him. Simple enough. He knows that, he's not stupid."

"Yeah, and his darling Katara knows it too," Katara said suddenly. Keely looked at her in surprise. "You're right, he's not stupid."

Keely flushed. Katara smirked and returned her gaze to Aang. Dodger laughed.

"Man, she got you," he snickered. Keely glared at him.

"Ready?" she snapped.

"Yep," the Demon and Aang said in unison.

"Alright, what are you waiting for? Go!"

The Demon moved forward in a flash. Katara gasped. She had never seen anyone move that fast, and apparently neither had Aang. He was sent flying backward, his back colliding with the mast. The pirates started cheering and the Demon smiled, slowly circling around in front of him.

Aang dropped into a crouch on the deck, rubbing his shoulder and scowling up at the Demon. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"You waste time, you get killed," the Demon said, shrugging.

"Well then, I guess I'd better stop wasting time," Aang replied simply, leaping forward and bringing his staff swishing through the air at the Demon's midriff. His eyes widened. She had moved again, sidestepping him before he had even moved. He felt her staff across his back and was thrown forward. The pirates were still roaring in excitement as Katara stepped forward, catching Aang before he hit the deck.

"Hey hey, no helping," Dodger snapped, grabbing Katara by the shoulder and pulling her back into the crowd.

Katara instantly resisted, wrenching her arm out of his grasp without a second thought. "Aang-"

Keely reached forward and caught a strong grip on her elbow, jerking her backward. Katara tried again to pull free, but Keely's grasp was a great deal stronger than Dodger's.

"He volunteered," Keely said, smirking. "He's not stupid."

Katara flushed angrily but didn't say a word.

"I believe the score is now tied," Dodger said slyly.

"Shut up, Dodger," Keely growled.

Aang was back on his feet, slowly circling the Demon, keeping his eyes on her. She was doing the same thing.

"I've never fought an airbender before," she said lightly. "But so far I'm not impressed."

Aang's eyes narrowed. Katara bit her lip. Suddenly, the name "Demon" no longer seemed so misleading.


	5. Chapter 5

_Here it is! There are several parts about this chapter that I enjoy. But most of it I don't like anymore. Liiike everything else I write. Oy. Here._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 5

"Toph."

"What?"

"Stop worrying."

"Why should I?"

"Because Momo is flying toward us, and it looks like he's carrying a note."

Toph jumped to her feet, looking around wildly. Sokka, through sheer force of habit, took her hand and pointed it in the direction the lemur was coming from.

"Momo!" Toph shouted excitedly. Sokka looked at her in surprise. She flushed and looked down, growling. "What, I'm just worried about them."

Sokka caught Momo on his arm. The lemur chattered urgently at him, tearing the note off his leg and shaking it in Sokka's face. Sokka took it quickly.

"Calm down Momo, have something to eat," he said, gesturing toward the campfire beside which Appa was sleeping. Momo soared gratefully over to the fire, gathering himself a pile of fruit and slinking off into Appa's shadow to eat in peace.

"What's it say?" Toph demanded, tapping her foot impatiently and sending miniature tremors through the ground.

Sokka unrolled the note, peering over the hastily scribbled ink. "It's from Katara," he said. "_Aang and I are fine. We were captured in the pirate raid last night._"

"How does that make them fine?!"

"_Don't worry, they probably aren't going to kill us._"

"Oh _that's_ reassuring…"

"_As far as we can tell, we're headed due west. But don't try to come after us until Appa is feeling better. We'll be fine. We'll send you another message when we can. - Katara._"

Sokka turned the note over as if expecting to see more.

"That's it?" Toph growled.

"Yep."

"Those two are so frustrating."

"Tell me about it."

0000000

Katara winced. Aang had just been hit again. The battle had been going on for at least five minutes, which were slowly becoming the longest minutes of Katara's life. The movements were getting faster, the blows harder, and it was clear that Aang was having trouble keeping up. It had taken him barely thirty seconds to adapt to the conditions. He had gotten very good with different terrains and opponents, learned to calculate distance and strategy in seconds when the need arose. But the Demon always seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Katara held her breath. Another minute passed in which Aang was hit twelve times. The pirates were all cheering and roaring. Katara's eyes narrowed. Aang widened his stance slightly and shifted his weight to his toes. She smirked. He had his bearings.

There was a great "Ooooooh" from the crowd as Aang landed a solid hit to the Demon's shoulder. But she just laughed.

"Nice hit, Aang!"

Aang couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," he called, spinning and catching her behind the knees as she tried to dodge. She laughed again, ducking and rolling across the deck to regain her footing and throwing a very successful blow to Aang's ribcage. Aang reciprocated almost instantly and they both staggered, winded. The tension dissolved instantly. They were matched blow for blow, but they were having_fun_. Katara shook her head, unable to stop a small smile from sneaking to her face.

"Okay okay," the Demon said a few minutes later, bending over and resting her hands on her knees. "I think that's enough for now."

Aang bent over in a similar position, breathing deeply. "It's safe to say you won," he said with a laugh.

The Demon smiled. "Well… let's just call it a tie in my favor."

Aang nodded, laughing. "Okay, deal."

Katara was at his side in seconds, taking his face in her hands and peering into his eyes, checking for possible brain damage.

"Oh Aang what were you thinking, just willingly going into a fight like this, you could have a concussion, she hit you in the head a few times, you're covered in bruises…" she muttered endlessly, running her hands down over his limbs to inspect the damage. Aang laughed and caught her hands in his.

"Stop," he said weakly, smiling at her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"At least let me heal some of these…"

"Okay, if it'll stop you from panicking."

"I can't make you any promises."

The Demon watched in amusement as the two of them practically tripped over each other, trying to smother the awkwardness of their close proximity by distracting each other with Aang's numerous unimportant injuries. She glanced over when Keely stepped up beside her, snorting with laughter.

"They sure aren't trying to hide it, are they?" she said quietly.

"They are, just very unsuccessfully," the Demon replied.

"Hide what?" Robin asked quietly, appearing beside them.

"They love each other," the Demon said easily. "They just haven't figured it out yet. So they're trying to hide it from each other so neither gets hurt."

"It's annoying," Keely said bluntly. "Why not just come out with it?

"They already have a relationship," the Demon said thoughtfully, watching as Katara resorted to moving behind Aang and fastening her hands to his waist, forcefully pushing him over toward the galley stairs. They both laughed, blushing, but Katara didn't let go. "The whole 'best friends harboring deeper feelings' thing is complicated."

Keely smirked. "And you would know because…?"

The Demon shrugged. "I've been around the world more than once, Keely," she said lightly. "Ask me in eight years." And with that she walked away, barking orders and scattering the crowd as she went.

Keely sighed. "Time for phase two," she said quietly.

Robin shot her a quizzical glance. Keely smiled.

"Phase one involved getting to know the two of them superficially, according to the Demon," she explained in an undertone. "Seeing how they fight, who takes charge between the two of them, how they work together, stuff like that. Phase two is me getting to know them in a more personal way." She sighed. "Which means I'll have to tell them about me. The Avatar is all about fair trade."

"Tell them about all three of us," Robin said simply. "More of a bargaining chip."

Keely smiled. "Thanks," she said quietly. "And Dodger won't mind?"

"I'll deal with Dodger."

Keely laughed. "I bet you will." Robin smiled sheepishly. Keely laughed again.

0000000

Aang collapsed into his hammock with a groan. The Demon had worked them very hard the rest of the day. They had both learned a great deal about the workings of ships, though Katara already had some experience from her father and brother. She fell into the hammock beside Aang's. It was very cold below deck, especially after sunset.

"You okay?" Katara asked quietly, her voice barely audible over the creaking of the ship.

Aang didn't respond for a few moments, watching the steady stream of tired pirates falling into their hammocks nearby. Most of them fell asleep instantly.

"I'm fine," he replied. Katara sat up and glanced at him. His hammock was only a few feet away. He was staring up at the ceiling in a glazed sort of way.

"You're worried about Appa," Katara whispered.

Aang glanced at her. She smiled. He laughed a little. "How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

Katara paused. "I don't," she murmured. "I just know you well enough to tell sometimes."

Aang laughed lightly again, but didn't respond.

"He's okay, Aang," Katara continued gently. "He just needs to rest for a while. You've told me before, sky bison are lifelong partners."

Katara couldn't imagine why she had blushed when she said the words "lifelong partners." Aang couldn't imagine why either, but it still made him smile.

"Yeah, you're right," Aang said simply. He fell silent. Katara frowned.

"Aang," she whispered. "I'm going to ask you again. Are you okay?"

Aang sighed. "Not completely," he admitted. "I'm sorry about this, Katara."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"It's my fault we were captured," he sighed. "I'm not sure exactly what happened during that raid, but I know I went down first. And I know that the only reason you went down was to protect me."

Katara blushed and looked away. "You don't know that…"

"Don't pretend," Aang said quietly.

"Don't apologize," Katara replied. "If we could do it again, I wouldn't do anything different."

"Katara…"

"Really," she urged. "If given the choice between being stuck on a pirate ship with you and you getting hurt…" She smiled at him. "That's hardly even a choice, is it? I'd pick the former every time."

Aang glanced at her. "Every time, huh?"

"Every time."

"Even if the pirates weren't so nice?"

"Yep."

He fell silent again. He heard Katara sigh, but he didn't say anything. Several minutes passed in silence.

"Thank you for that, Katara," he finally whispered. She didn't respond. "Katara?"

He sat up and looked over. Katara had fallen asleep. Both of them were rather filthy and salty from the hard day's work, but she still managed to look beautiful, even in her sleep. He sighed and sat back on his hammock.

"I love you," he whispered to the ceiling.

Three hammocks over, Dodger smiled, suddenly seeing the Avatar as less of a captive and more of a kindred spirit.

0000000

"Why aren't they awake?"

"Dodger, no, the Demon said to let them sleep in today."

"Why?"

Keely glared at him. "I don't know what her plan is, Dodger, I only know bits and pieces," she sighed. "What I know right now is that you cannot wake them up."

Dodger frowned down at Aang and Katara, both fast asleep in their hammocks. They had turned to face each other during the night. Keely turned and looked at them as well. She tilted her head a little.

"They're really something, aren't they?" she said quietly.

Dodger glanced at her, then down at them again. "Yeah… they're younger than us, and they stopped a war that lasted a hundred years," he said. "That's pretty impressive. And I'm not easily impressed."

Keely smiled at him. "Come on," she said suddenly, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the stairs. "I'm going to tell you what I know."

Dodger grinned. "Great!" he paused. "But what about Robin?"

"We'll get her too, she's probably on deck."

"Oh, good."

Minutes later, the three of them were locked in the dark captain's cabin, sitting around a cramped little table covered in papers and other odds and ends.

"Okay, so we all know the Demon has a plan," Keely began. Robin and Dodger nodded. "I'll give you what details I know. She never said I couldn't, and I don't even have the whole plan, so it's not much."

"But it's more than nothing," Dodger pointed out.

"True," Keely admitted. "Okay, so she wants us to warm up to Aang and Katara. Become their friends, you know? Get on their good side."

Dodger and Robin exchanged a glance.

"Get to know what we can about them," Keely continued. "And report everything we learn to the Demon. But…"

"But?" Dodger repeated.

"But to get them to tell us about them, we'll need to tell them about us."

Dodger frowned. "Why should I let them dig into my personal life for some plan that we don't even know all of?"

"Come on, Dodger," Robin said quietly. "It's not just your life. It's all of our lives."

Dodger glanced at her, then at Keely, who was grinning at him. He sighed. "Fine."

Keely clapped him on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Dodger."

"Yeah yeah, what's the rest of the plan?"

"Well…"

"You don't know any more, do you?"

"No."

"Great."


	6. Chapter 6

Dude, I'm watching the pilot of Gilmore Girls. It's like... nutso, man, nutso. Um uh... new chapter. Neat.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 6 

Katara opened her eyes. Sunlight was streaming into the bottom of the ship from the stairway. Every hammock was empty except the one right beside her. She smiled.

Katara had been sleeping beside Aang for nearly three years now, and in those three years they had both changed. But it was safe to say Aang had changed more. He had grown nearly a foot, leaving his twelve-year-old physique far behind. He still shaved his head every morning, wearing his arrows proudly. But now a bandana was obscuring the tattoos, and Aang got to be a normal teenager. She smiled. What he had always wanted.

Little did she know, the other thing he had always wanted was in the hammock next to him, watching him sleep.

Katara frowned as he sighed in his sleep. She had loved him for three years, but she couldn't bring herself to confront him about it. She sighed and reached hesitantly toward him, brushing her fingers over his cheek.

He yawned and opened his eyes. She smiled at him, withdrawing her hand. "Morning," she said quietly.

Aang sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Morning," he murmured in reply. He looked around. "Everybody else is up?"

"Looks like it," Katara said lightly. "I'm surprised they didn't wake us."

Aang stretched his arms over his head and opened his mouth to reply, but his stomach gave a loud grumble. Katara stifled a laugh behind her hand and Aang blushed a little.

"Guess it's time for breakfast," he laughed.

Katara got to her feet and took him by the arm, pulling him out of his hammock and into the galley. "Then let's go get some breakfast."

0000000

Keely jumped down the stairs. "I've waited long enough," she shouted as Robin and Dodger followed her down the stairs. "Rise and shine, Ava- they're not here." She put her hands on her hips, glancing between their empty hammocks. She turned around and shrugged at the other two.

"Galley?" Dodger suggested.

"Let's go," Keely replied, striding past them. Dodger and Robin followed her, rolling their eyes.

When they entered the galley, Aang and Katara seemed to be in mid-conversation, because they both fell instantly silent.

"Hello, Aang, Katara," Keely said companionably, taking a seat across from them at the table. "How are you?"

"Fine…" Aang replied warily, watching Dodger and Robin sit down side-by-side.

"Good, we need to talk to you," Dodger said.

"What about?" Katara asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"If you have any questions about us personally, ask away," Keely said simply.

Aang and Katara stared. "But… why?" Aang finally said.

"Every new member of the crew is afforded the same privilege," Keely continued with a shrug. "On the condition that you answer any questions we have, of course."

"Oh, of course," Katara muttered, rolling her eyes.

"It's for the sake of safety, really," Keely pushed on, unheeded.

"It's easier to work with someone if you know about them," Dodger added. "If you can't work properly with someone out at sea, people get hurt."

Aang and Katara shared a glance. "I guess that makes sense…" Aang admitted warily.

"Great, so like I said, ask away," Keely stated again, sitting back comfortably in her chair and waiting.

"Um… okay," Katara began slowly. "Are Keely, Dodger, and Robin your real names?"

"Nope," Keely answered instantly. "Nicknames we picked up seven years ago when we met. Keely, like the keel of a ship, Dodger because he's flighty-"

"Hey, that is so not true you-"

"And Robin because she's quiet, like the ash robins back home in the Fire Nation."

"Ash robins… there aren't a lot of those around anymore," Aang said suddenly. "There were tons there a hundred years ago."

The three pirates stared. "A hundred years ago," Dodger repeated.

"Uh… long story…"

"We've got time."

Aang looked down. "Well… you know that hundred years or so when there was no Avatar?" Katara glanced at him. "I was kind of frozen in an iceberg for that hundred years. Katara broke me out three years ago. So technically… I'm one-hundred-fifteen years old."

Aang looked up warily. All three of them were staring at him with their mouths hanging open.

"Well that kicks the crap out of my story," Dodger snorted.

"What is your story?" Aang asked, smiling a little.

"Oh it's very dull in comparison," he grumbled. Robin punched him in the shoulder. "Ouch, fine. Well… I was born into the Northern Water Tribe on a temperate summer day…"

"Dodger, I swear…"

"Okay, okay. I was born at the North Pole. I was trained to waterbend by this guy named Master Pakku…"

"Hey we know him!"

"Anyway," Dodger said loudly, cutting Aang off. Keely rolled her eyes. "I learned to waterbend, learned to fight, nice normal upbringing. Until I was about nine. Then I got bored. So I uh… 'hitched a ride' on a Fire Navy ship. As luck would have it, these two were stowing away too."

"Wait, didn't your parents mind that you just left when you were nine?" Katara asked.

"My parents died when I was six."

Katara smiled sympathetically. "Sorry," she said sincerely. "I lost my mother when I was young too."

"Speaking of which," Keely said quickly. "What's your story?"

Katara laughed a little. "South Pole for me," she said simply. "I was the only waterbender there growing up. My mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid, and my father left with all the warriors to fight in the war. So it was just me and my brother being raised by my grandmother. I broke Aang out of the iceberg and… I guess the rest is history."

"That's true," Dodger added. "The whole world is telling stories about all of your adventures in that first year after you came back, Aang."

"Yeah, it's kind of weird…" Aang admitted with a laugh. "I mean… some of the stuff that happened to us was kind of personal…"

"You mean like the Cave of Two Lovers?" Keely asked slyly.

Katara glared at her and Aang blushed. Robin let out the first noise she had made all morning and snorted with laughter.

"How about you, Robin?" Aang asked politely, smiling at her.

Robin glanced at Keely.

"Come on, you've hardly said a word all day," Keely said quietly.

Aang and Katara shared a glance.

"Well…" Robin began quietly. Aang and Katara both looked surprised. They had yet to hear her voice. "I'm from the Fire Nation. Keely and I… we were raised in the same orphanage. I'm not a firebender, so when the other kids were training, I was learning to fight with my hands. When we were nine, the orphanage was shut down to make room for a new imperial academy. So we left."

"Yep," Keely continued. "Stowed away on a Fire Navy ship on its way north. We were joined by Dodge here four months later. That's about when the three of us became professional stowaways."

"Professional stowaways?" Aang asked, laughing a little.

"Correct," Keely said with a grin. "Sneak on ships, steal everything they have, sneak off." She laughed lightly. "Simple."

"Yeah, and we're great at it," Dodger added. "Ever heard of the Cerberus?"

"Yeah," Katara began simply. "We heard about the Cerberus all the time in the Fire Nation and the western Earth Kingdom. They're wanted all over the place."

Keely, Dodger, and Robin shared a grin.

"Wait… that's you guys?" Katara laughed.

"Pirates are after us, the navy is after us, the army of both nations are after us," Dodger counted off his fingers. "Everyone in the western hemisphere wants a piece of the Cerberus. We've robbed more than one Fire Navy ship blind. In fact, we've hit some more than once."

"Yeah," Keely was laughing now. "There was this one guy, no idea what his name was. Seriously, we got his ship like nine times in one year. Sideburns like a monkey, temper like a three-year-old."

"Sounds like Zhao," Aang said thoughtfully.

"That's it," Keely said, snapping her fingers triumphantly. "Zhao. Man, I always forget his name."

"He's dead."

"Oh, bummer. Well… did he at least die in some really humiliating way? Because that would make my day."

"Um…"

"What about you, Keely?" Katara asked suddenly.

Keely shrugged. "You pretty much heard my story," she said simply. "Grew up in an orphanage, learned to firebend. Stowed away on a Fire Navy ship at age ten. Started life as one third of the Cerberus."

"So where'd you learn to use those swords?" Aang asked, eyeing the two identical weapons at Keely's waist.

"Oh we've picked up a few skills in seven years on the ocean," Dodger said with a grin. "I got this crossbow from another pirate ship five years ago." He gave his crossbow an affectionate pat.

"I learned to use the swords when we were in prison for two months back when we were thirteen," Keely said.

"Oh yeah," Dodger laughed. "Good times."

"Robin got her sword three years ago," Keely continued, glancing at the short sword strapped across Robin's back. "Back when we were casing the ferry to Ba Sing Se. We were on vacation."

"But those ferries are all refugees," Aang said suddenly. "What was there to steal?"

"We didn't steal from the refugees, kid," Dodger snorted. "Even we have standards. No, we stole from the captain."

"That guy was extremely well off," Keely added darkly. "He probably gets robbed all the time."

"The sword is an antique," Dodger continued lightly. "Prized possession of his. We were going to sell it, but Robin liked it."

Silence descended as both sides ran out of things to say. Almost.

"So…" Dodger said suddenly. "Are you two- Augh!"

He was cut off by Keely stomping on his foot.


	7. Chapter 7

_I just remembered that the pictures of the pirates have been created, and expertly done, I might add. Just check out fencingamer6's deviantart account._

_Now I have to go eat lunch, so enjoy the chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 7

"Okay," Keely said loudly over Dodger cursing in pain. Katara and Aang stared. "Any more questions? Any at all?"

Aang and Katara looked at each other. "Uh… yeah," Aang said after a moment. "How did you guys end up on the Raven's Shadow?"

"Oh, well we stowed away on this ship once a few years ago," Dodger said, rubbing his foot. "The Demon caught us. One of the first to ever do so. She took a liking to us I guess, let us hide out with her if we ever got in over our heads. But now that the Fire Navy isn't so uh… everywhere, we're running out of targets. So we signed onto her crew about a month ago."

"Okay, I'm all out of questions," Aang sighed, sitting back in his chair.

"Well I have one," Keely replied. Robin smiled slightly. "Could you give us a quick play-by-play of your escapades together? Just a nice condensed version of the past three years."

Katara shrugged. "Sure, why not," she sighed. "First year, we made our way to the North Pole and learned to waterbend from Master Pakku," she began. Dodger opened his mouth to say something, but she gave him a look and he didn't say a word. "After that we went on a kind of crash tour through the Earth Kingdom until we found Toph. She taught Aang to earthbend on our way to Ba Sing Se. We were there when Princess Azula took over, barely made it out alive."

Aang looked down. Katara fell silent, placing a gentle hand on his arm. He didn't respond, so she continued quietly.

"We went to the Fire Nation undercover to prepare for the invasion on the Day of Black Sun. But there were some complications along the way. Azula found out about the invasion in Ba Sing Se. So Aang had to learn to firebend. We broke General Iroh out of prison and he became Aang's new teacher. So we had to stage another invasion and… well… we won."

Aang didn't move or make a sound, but Katara paused and her grip tightened on his arm.

"We went back to the South Pole to rest for a few months," she continued. "Then Aang made a sad attempt to leave me behind." Aang laughed lightly and Katara smiled. "But I caught him, and the four of us were off again, cleaning up after the war. That's what we've been doing for the past two years."

"Nothing more specific than that?" Keely asked after a pause.

"Well uh… we spent some time at the North Pole," Katara said when Aang didn't respond. "And Omashu. We helped with a lot of clean up in Ba Sing Se. Spent a long time in the Fire Nation. We were recently on our way to the Northern Air Temple, but then Aang's bison got sick so we stopped to let him rest. That's where you found us."

Keely noticed that at some point in the conversation, Katara's hand had moved from Aang's arm. It was now in Aang's hand, fingers interlaced. She smirked. Neither seemed to have noticed. She opened her mouth to toss out a biting 'Sorry, should we leave you two alone?' But she stopped herself. The Demon had given express orders not to interfere with the relationship between Aang and Katara in any way.

She just cleared her throat and offered the two of them a smile. "Well, sounds like the two of you have been on quite an adventure," she said lightly. "I guess that was my last question. So uh… we'll leave you to your breakfast."

She grabbed Dodger and Robin by their elbows and pulled them out of their seats. They were up the stairs and out of sight in seconds.

Aang frowned. "Those guys are weird," he stated.

"Agreed," Katara laughed. She paused, eyes falling upon their hands. She smiled. "Hey, when did this happen?" she asked quietly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

Aang blushed. "Oh, uh…" he muttered, laughing a little in embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't mean to uh…"

"No, it's okay," Katara laughed, holding tightly as he tried to tug his hand away. She offered no explanation, but Aang smiled back anyway. However, the smile faded from Aang's face after a moment. He pulled his hand from hers. She frowned a bit and he looked away. "You okay?" she asked.

"Ah it's… nothing…" he muttered, getting to his feet. "I'm uh… not hungry anymore. I think I'm gonna head up on deck." He didn't say another word as he moved up the stairs. Katara got to her feet and followed him quickly.

"Aang," she called, catching up to him halfway across the deck. "Aang, did I do something wrong?"

"No," Aang sighed. "I just uh… needed some air. I guess I'm a little… seasick…"

He continued across the deck. Katara didn't move. "Seasick?" she muttered doubtfully. She sighed.

"Something wrong, Katara?" Keely said suddenly, seeming to have materialized beside her, as usual.

"Did I do something wrong?" Katara repeated quietly.

Keely glanced at her, then over at Aang, who was sitting up in the bow and staring at his feet.

"What do you mean?" Keely asked shrewdly.

"When you left the galley he was fine, but then all of a sudden he just…" she trailed off and shook her head. "It's nothing, never mind." She retreated into the galley. Keely frowned. She glanced around the deck and saw Dodger near the mast, mending his crossbow. She smirked.

"Dodger," she whispered sharply, coming up beside him. He jumped and looked around wildly.

"Oh, it's you," he muttered.

Keely snorted with laughter. "Oh please, I need a favor," she continued, crouching beside him. "Go talk to Aang."

"What about?" Dodger replied distractedly.

"You're in love with Robin, aren't you?" Keely said simply.

Dodger inhaled sharply and choked. Keely raised an eyebrow, watching him cough and splutter for several seconds.

"What are you talking about?" Dodger coughed, eyes watering.

"You're in love with Robin, don't deny it," Keely sighed, annoyed. "The Avatar is having lady troubles. Go talk to him."

"What am I supposed to tell him? I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly getting anywhere with Robin."

"Well think of something," Keely hissed as the Demon walked past. "We're supposed to keep them happy, and he doesn't look very happy. Katara just told me he suddenly started moping. Go figure out why. Please?"

Dodger stared at her. "The 'P-word,' wow, you are desperate," he sighed. "Fine, I'll go talk to him."

"Thank you," Keely said with a smile. "Now I'm going to go talk some sense into the waterbender."

"You say waterbender like it's a bad thing," Dodger snorted, striding across the deck.

"You're a saint!" Keely called from the galley stairs.

0000000

Aang glanced over as Dodger sat down next to him. Dodger didn't look over.

"They sure don't make them like that at the North Pole," Dodger said suddenly.

"Like what?" Aang asked dully.

"Like Katara," Dodger continued lightly. "She is much better looking than any of the girls I knew back home."

Aang glared at him. "Don't talk about her like that," he growled.

Dodger shrugged. "I'm just saying you have good taste," he said frankly.

Aang stared. "Excuse me?" he asked, blushing.

"Well you're kind of in love with her," Dodger pointed out. "I don't know if you've noticed."

"How would you know?" Aang muttered.

Dodger stared at him. He pointed to himself. "Same problem, right here," he said.

"Problem?" Aang repeated.

"You're in love with Katara, I'm in love with Robin."

"You are?"

Dodger shook his head. "Open your eyes, Avatar," he replied. "The best-friends-secret-lovers thing happens all the time. It just isn't easy."

"Tell me about it," Aang sighed. "So what's your problem?"

"Same as yours, I'd wager," Dodger continued. "She doesn't hear me."

Aang glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"I've tried a few times over the years," Dodger sighed. "You know… tried to tell her how I feel. But something always gets in the way. She just doesn't hear me."

Aang sighed as well. "Same problem," he said tonelessly. "So what are we supposed to do about it?"

"We can't just sit here," Dodger said suddenly, getting to his feet. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" Aang asked, getting to his feet as well.

Dodger looked around. Robin was standing beside the mast, wrapping some old fabric around one of her bare feet.

"Like this," Dodger replied. "Robin!"

Robin looked over at him and smiled. He looked at Aang. "Watch and learn," he said simply. He strode across the deck and grabbed Robin firmly by the arms. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't say a word.

Dodger looked her in the eye, took a deep breath, and said simply, "I'm tired of waiting for you to hear me."

"What?" Robin whispered, confused.

He didn't answer. He kissed her instead.

Aang's mouth dropped open.

Robin was surprised, but she didn't resist. On the contrary, she reached up to the back of his head and pulled him closer. The two of them stumbled a bit and Robin ended up pinned against the mast. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed.

The rest of the pirates either didn't notice or didn't care, because they simply kept working around them. Aang watched silently, leaning against the ship railing.

"Pirate love, kid," the Demon said suddenly, leaning beside him. "No stronger feeling in the world."

"Then I must be a pirate," Aang sighed. "Because there is nothing stronger than how I feel about Katara."

The Demon laughed. "Alright then," she agreed. "The way I see it, you have two choices."

"And they are?" Aang asked, his eyes never leaving Dodger and Robin.

"You could take the advice I gave Dodger. She'll hear you eventually," the Demon reasoned. "Or, you could ignore that advice, like Dodger, and take initiative."

"Initiative, huh?" Aang said quietly.

"Why did you walk away from her earlier?" the Demon asked suddenly.

"What?" Aang asked in surprise. "How did you know about that?"

"I know about everything on my ship," the Demon replied simply. "So why did you walk away from her?"

Aang looked down. "She acts like she loves me," he muttered. "But she doesn't. She'll never feel that way about me."

"Why?"

"Because to her, I'll always be the dorky twelve-year-old she broke out of the iceberg three years ago," he sighed.

"Are you sure?"

Aang glanced at her. She was smirking.

"Maybe the only way to find out is to take some initiative," she said simply, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. "Something to think about." She left him standing there, stewing over what she said. She started ordering the pirates around instantly, but she left Dodger and Robin alone. It was probably for the best, because they wouldn't have listened to her anyway.

0000000

"Katara?"

Katara glanced over at the stairs. Keely was standing there, giving her an appraising look. She was sitting with her elbow on the table and her chin resting on her hand, staring disinterestedly at the wall.

"What are you doing?" Keely asked, sitting down across from her and mimicking her position.

"Thinking," Katara grumbled.

"About what?"

"I don't see how it's your business."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Well stop trying."

"Hey," Keely snapped. "Quit moping. You didn't do anything wrong. Boys are stupid."

Katara let out a snort of sarcastic laughter. "Maybe all the boys you know," she said. She sighed and looked down. "But Aang's not stupid."

"Maybe not when he's the Avatar or when he's your best friend," Keely replied. "But when he's just a boy, he's as stupid as the rest of them."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean," Keely said lightly, looking critically at her nails.

Katara stared at her. "I don't understand you at all," she said flatly.

Keely leaned forward slightly. "Trust me, Kat, it's entirely mutual," she replied. She was up the stair and gone moments later.

Katara resumed staring at the wall. "Kat?" she muttered. She sighed and shook her head. "Whatever…"

0000000

"Dodger?"

"Hm?"

Robin gave Dodger a push, finally disconnecting his lips from hers.

"Dodger, back off," she laughed. "I need to breathe."

"Right," Dodger said, blushing. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"Just a little," she said gently, smiling. "So…"

"So," Dodger repeated.

"This uh… what does this mean?" she asked quietly, finally moving her back away from the mast.

"This means that um…" Dodger began. "That we're… uh…" He stopped and looked at her. "Do you love me, Robin?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "I uh…" she trailed off, looking down.

"No, Robin, you can't stop talking," Dodger said suddenly, grabbing her by the arms again. "Not yet. Please, it's just one word. Yes or no."

She looked away from him, opening her mouth to speak. But she couldn't.

"Please, Robin," Dodger said quietly. She didn't respond. He sighed and looked down.

"Yes."

Dodger looked up. Her eyes were closed and she looked pale. He smiled and pulled her into a hug.

Aang watched in a subdued sort of way, still sitting in the bow. Keely came out of nowhere and sat down beside him.

"Why doesn't she talk?" Aang asked. "It seems like she only says so much in one day, and then she can't anymore."

Keely watched the two of them in mild amusement. "She lied when she said she grew up in the orphanage," she said quietly. "She didn't get there until she was five. She didn't talk at all for the first year she was there. And even then, she only talked to me. I'm the only one she talks to normally. Everyone else has a limit to how long she can carry on a conversation."

"Why?" Aang asked, his voice hushed. He had never heard of such a thing.

"Something happened to her," Keely said darkly. "When she was growing up… before she came to the orphanage. Something terrible. I'm the only person she's ever told."

"It must have been something really bad to make her stop talking," Aang muttered, knowing better than to ask exactly what had happened.

Keely looked down, appearing for the first time to have nothing to say.

"So… Dodger and Robin," Aang said after a long silence.

"Yep," Keely said, smiling. "Took them long enough."

"Wait, you knew?"

"I'm their best friend, of course I knew," Keely replied lightly.

Aang looked thoughtfully skyward. Did Sokka and Toph know that he loved Katara?

"You know," Keely said suddenly. "Katara's sitting in the galley moping right now. She thinks she's done something wrong. All your fault, by the way."

"Because I brushed her off," Aang sighed.

"Like an unwanted houseguest," Keely added for him. "I have one word for you: ouch."

Aang glanced moodily away.

"I can only assume you didn't even have a good reason," Keely sighed dramatically. "After all, you're a boy. I tried to explain it to Katara, but she wouldn't hear of it. 'Aang's not stupid, Aang's not like all the boys you know, blah blah blah.'"

"She said that?" Aang asked quietly.

"Yeah yeah, you're perfect for each other, whatever," Keely sighed. "Just quit moping around. It's getting on my nerves."

"Does it bother you that Dodger and Robin are together?" Aang asked. "Since you're kind of…"

"A leftover?" Keely finished for him. "Nah, it doesn't bother me. I've been busy lately anyway. If anything, they've been getting sick of me."

Aang nodded and fell silent. "I have a weird question for you," he said suddenly after several moments.

"Ask away," Keely said lightly, leaning back and looking up at the rippling black sails.

"If you and Robin both met Dodger at the same time, why did he pick her?"

Keely sat up abruptly and stared at him. "That is a weird question," she agreed.

"Do you have an answer?"

Keely frowned at him. "The three of us are like family," she stated. "But Dodger loves Robin. Love like that doesn't come from a familial relationship. It comes from the desire to understand someone."

Aang shot her a quizzical look. She sighed and glanced away from him.

"Look… I'm a simple person to understand. I talk. That's what I do. I tell it like it is, no bullshit. Robin, she hardly ever talks to him. And when she does talk, it's cryptic. She's thoughtful, she says only as much as she has to. Talking is a big thing for Dodger. That's how he gets to know people, how he interacts and understands," she paused for a moment. "So he runs into these two girls. One of them seems pretty superficial to him. She says what she thinks, there's nothing to figure out. But the other one, he just can't understand. But he wants to. So he tries to figure her out. He gets to know her better without words. He falls in love with her. Simple."

"So love comes from a desire to understand," Aang muttered.

"At least, that's what I think," Keely corrected him. "Love comes from all over the place. Pirate love, on the other hand…" She grinned, glancing at Dodger and Robin who had gone back to kissing. "That comes from some very special circumstances, understanding included." She got to her feet. "I'll leave you to that." She walked away.

Aang fell silent and took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to consider taking some initiative.


	8. Chapter 8

_I have nothing to add…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 8

"Sokka, would you stop reading that? The paper is about to fall apart."

Sokka looked over. Toph had sat down beside him at the campfire. He was reading the note from Katara again. They had only been gone four days, but the war had programmed him to worry in periods of long separation from anyone he was close to.

"Right, sorry," he sighed, rolling up the note and tucking it away.

"They're fine," she said in response. "They're together, and whenever they're together, everything is fine."

"That's true."

"So stop worrying," Toph continued. "We know they're alive, and Appa should be back on his feet in a few days."

"But how are we going to find them?" Sokka sighed.

"Appa and Momo will find them," Toph said with a shrug.

"How are you so calm? You were freaking out before we got that note," Sokka pointed out sourly.

"Yes, but then we got the note," Toph replied calmly. "Hard evidence that they are_fine_."

"You're right," Sokka said suddenly. "I think it's about time Positive Sokka came back."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Oh no, not him again…" she sighed, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

0000000

Two days had passed on the Raven's Shadow since Dodger and Robin had figured out, very publicly, that their feelings were mutual. Aang and Katara were worked hard for every moment of it. They cleaned, they cooked, they navigated every so often, and by the end of each day they were both exhausted. But their relationship was strained.

The Demon always put them together in their tasks. She never told one to do something that she didn't tell the other to do. But they were having trouble communicating. Katara still thought she had upset him, and Aang was nervous and guilty for making her feel that way.

Keely, ever mindful of the Demon's instructions to keep them happy, tried more than once to mend things from a distance. But they were denser than she thought.

After two days of trying, however, all thoughts of their happiness were pushed from her mind. Another pirate ship had been spotted on the horizon, and they were headed straight for them.

"It's another pirate vessel," Keely said grimly as she looked through the telescope. "I don't recognize it. But their colors are out. They're going to attack."

"Probably some hot shot that haunts the eastern seas, looking to take down the most dangerous pirate in the western world," the Demon said with a shrug. "When they attack, we fight back. Simple. But there is one complication I'm going to deal with personally."

"Aang and Katara?" Keely asked quietly. Like it or not, she had grown rather fond of the two of them, annoying as they were.

"Right you are," the Demon replied. "Start preparing the crew. I'm going to have a chat with the Avatar."

"Wait… I'm in charge of preparation?" Keely asked slowly.

"Yes, now hurry up!"

0000000

"My back hurts."

"My everything hurts."

Katara laughed lightly. Most of the pirates had just woken up or were still sleeping. Aang and Katara knew they would be ordered to do something dull and repetitive soon, so they relaxed while they could. They both sat in their hammocks, facing opposite directions, stretching their tired and aching muscles.

Katara chanced a quick look at the young Avatar sitting behind her. Four days without shaving his head saw a shadow of dark hair over his scalp. She was reminded of their time in the Fire Nation in disguise. The only time he had ever allowed his hair to grow. He had taken to wearing his bandana like the headband he used to wear. Despite everything, Katara enjoyed their time in the Fire Nation, and this reminder had helped her get through the past two days not talking to him. She sighed.

Aang glanced over his shoulder at Katara, who was stretching her arms. He sighed. It had been two days since that morning when he had brushed her off. Two days of barely talking. He didn't know how much longer he could handle it. Nice as these pirates were, Katara was really all he had on this ship. He was sitting three feet away from her, and he missed her.

He had been pondering taking initiative the whole forty-eight hours. He had to do something soon. Seeing Dodger and Robin kiss as they had reminded him of a time nearly three years ago when he and Katara had been trapped in a cave. She had been the one to suggest that they kiss. If it could be called a kiss. It was more of a brush of the lips, but it had been enough. Enough for him to feel how soft and warm her lips were, how sweet her kiss would be. Enough to drive him completely insane whenever he thought of kissing her.

Initiative… initiative… the word ran through his head endlessly. He glanced at her over his shoulder again. Now. Now was his chance.

"Katara…"

She turned around, smiling gently. She could tell they were about to talk. Really talk, as they hadn't in two days. Just seeing her smile like that gave him the confidence he needed. He smiled back.

"Katara, I-"

"Everybody on deck, right now!" the Demon roared as she jumped down the stairs. "Do everything Keely tells you. And I mean everything."

The pirates all around them started scrambling for their things, weapons and loose articles of clothing.

"No," Aang groaned in frustration. Something always got in the way... "Katara, I really need to tell you-"

"Aang, Katara, you stay here," the Demon said sternly as the rest of the pirates emptied onto the deck. "I need to have a word with you."

Aang groaned again.

"What is it, Aang?" Katara asked urgently. She needed this as much as he did.

"It'll have to wait," the Demon said seriously, standing between the two of them. "This is very serious. I need you to listen."

Aang sighed. He and Katara both turned to face each other so they could see the Demon properly.

"Okay," the Demon said calmly. "There is another pirate ship coming straight toward us. There is a very good chance that they will attack us. There is going to be a battle."

Aang and Katara were now listening attentively.

"You have two choices," the Demon said darkly. "You can either choose to fight alongside my crew, or we will tie you up and lock you in the brig so you can't interfere."

Aang and Katara exchanged a glance.

"In the event that we lose this fight and you two are tied up down here, I don't know what will happen to you," the Demon continued calmly. "I'll give you some time to consider your options. I'll be back in three minutes."

She strode away without another word, climbing the stairs to the deck three at a time.

"A battle," Aang said quietly. "And we have to pick sides."

"This has never happened before," Katara said quietly. "I mean… it's always been us against the bad guys."

Aang nodded slowly. "So between two pirate crews… who are the bad guys?"

They both fell silent. Katara watched Aang as a pensive look came over his face.

"Aang," she said suddenly. "What were you going to tell me?"

Aang glanced up at her, then looked away, sighing. "It's… not a good time," he muttered. "I'll tell you later."

"Do you promise?" Katara blurted before she could stop herself. Aang looked at her in surprise. "Promise me you'll tell me later, Aang. Promise me."

He saw what she was doing. She wasn't letting him lose his nerve. She was making him promise, and he always kept his promises. He looked away again. Suddenly, her hands were on either side of his face, steadying him, holding his gaze on her.

"Please, Aang," she said quietly. "Promise me."

He found her hands on his face to be rather disorienting. Conversely, staring straight into her eyes like that was intensely relaxing, almost meditative. He was losing his grip on reality.

"I promise," he said without thinking.

She nodded, withdrawing her hands. He shook his head briskly, trying to clear his clouded mind.

"Okay," she whispered. "Thank you."

He just nodded vaguely. "Now what uh… are we going to do about this fight?"

Katara looked down thoughtfully. "Well… I think… we just need to figure out which way we would be better off," she said slowly. "This is the first time we need to just think of our own safety. Just protect each other."

"You're right," Aang said quietly. "Kinda weird, isn't it? We have to think like pirates."

Katara laughed. Aang smiled at the sound.

"Well if we're thinking like pirates, we'd be better off fighting," Katara said thoughtfully.

"Because then we can control the tide of the battle instead of waiting for the result," Aang agreed.

"So, we fight as pirates?" Katara asked, smiling and offering him her hand.

He smiled back and took her hand. "We fight as pirates," he confirmed. He got to his feet and pulled her up beside him.

"I'm glad we're talking again," she said quietly as they moved toward the stairs. Aang stopped in surprise. She glanced at him over her shoulder, smiling. He grinned back, racing after her.

0000000

"If they start bending, we defend first, counter-strike second, understand?"

The Demon smiled lightly as Keely dished out orders. She was born for this. At times, the Demon saw so much of herself in Keely it was almost frightening. They could have been sisters.

"For every person that boards their ship, we need one person here defending the Shadow," Keely continued. "This is basically a standard battle. You all know procedure. Don't get killed. Don't let your crew mates get killed. Defend the ship. Got it?"

The crew roared an affirmative. Keely grinned and called, "Full speed ahead!"

The Demon smiled again, leaning against the doorframe of her cabin as she watched. She jumped slightly when Dodger appeared beside here.

"Hey, Demon, I have to uh… ask you something," he hissed, sounding nervous.

"What?" she replied through gritted teeth.

"Um… do you think I should… you know, ask Robin not to fight or something?" he asked worriedly.

The Demon looked at him in confusion. "Why the hell would you do that?" she said bluntly.

"Well, we're together now, you know?" he continued, blushing. "It just seems like the romantic thing to do."

"It's not romantic, it's stupid," she sighed. "She'll just get mad at you."

"Really?" Dodger asked, confused. "I thought it was… I dunno… gentlemanly."

"For Pete's sake Dodger, you're a pirate," the Demon said, rolling her eyes. "Start acting like one." She fell silent as Aang and Katara walked up the stairs, Aang with his staff in hand and Katara strapping on her water skin. They were laughing about something as they joined the rest of the pirates on deck.

"See, just look at Aang," the Demon said. "He isn't asking Katara not to fight. He knows that she's strong and capable of defending herself. If he asked her not to fight, she would just think he didn't think she was strong enough. He wants her to be safe, but he won't ask her to just sit by and let him fight for her. It's outdated."

"Oh," Dodger said, looking thoughtfully away. "Okay then. Thanks."

He walked away. The Demon sighed heavily and shook her head.

"Aang, Katara," she barked, gesturing to them. They walked over quickly. "So are you in?"

They both nodded. "Yes, captain," they both said, smirking slightly.

The Demon gave them a level look. Aang cleared his throat and Katara shifted her weight nervously.

"Fine, get over there, listen to every word Keely says and obey," she said lowly, poking Aang sharply in the chest and tugging her staff from her back. She glanced darkly to the west. "They're almost here." Aang and Katara looked past her. The other ship was coming straight for them, coming up on their starboard side.

Katara and Aang approached the starboard railing, leaning against it and looking shrewdly at the ship. It was a great deal larger than the Raven's Shadow. And judging by the roaring of the crew, it held twice the amount of pirates.

Katara's eyes narrowed. There was movement on deck. Familiar movement.

"They're waterbending!" she shouted, jumping back into her stance and preparing herself. Aang took his place beside her. Half a dozen pirates followed suit, forming a line on the starboard side. Katara glanced sideways. The Demon and Dodger were both in line with them.

"The Demon is a waterbender?" she barely had time to gasp before a tidal wave came rushing toward the ship.

"Now!" Keely shouted. The line moved forward in a simultaneous motion, not unlike the one Katara and Aang had used to push away the fog created by the very waterbenders they were working with. The tidal wave burst into vapor.

"Fire!" the Demon's voice roared instantly. Another half dozen pirates, Keely included, moved in front of the waterbenders, blasting a line of fire at the other ship, towering over the Raven's Shadow. The fire dissipated before it reached its target.

"They have firebenders," Keely called to the crew, cracking her knuckles. The strikes ceased.

"No earthbenders?" Aang questioned quietly.

"There aren't a lot of earthbending pirates," Dodger answered for him. "The closest earth is five miles under water. We have a couple, but they're also skilled with weapons. They only earthbend during raids."

"Why have they stopped attacking?" Katara asked, watching the great ship for more signs of waterbending.

"They know we're matched in strength for distance strikes," the Demon said calmly. "Every waterbending attack or firebending attack either side throws will just be countered. We'll have to board and go hand to hand."

"Is there some kind of rule book about this we don't know about?" Aang sighed.

"It's more of a code, really," Dodger said with a smirk.

"And besides," the Demon added, the innocence of her tone offset by the wolfish grin on her face. "They're more like uh… guidelines…"


	9. Chapter 9

I'm just gonna throw this out here. Please, no spoilers for the leaked episodes within the reviews. I've managed to resist temptation thus far and I don't plan on changing that, so please don't tell me what happens. I'm waiting.

And um... this chapter seemed a little short to me for some reason. I don't know, maybe it's my imagination. But it was all I could fit without getting into the next part, which is huge and would have made this chapter like 8 billion pages.

PS. What's with the italics not working in the document manager? Irritating.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 9 

Aang and Katara had never seen a pirate battle before. Aang had often wondered what it would be like to be a pirate when he was young. He had played pirate games with some of the other young airbenders at the temple. The games were played in secret, of course, as pirates were about as far from monks as they could get.

So far, the life of a pirate was both as fun as he thought it would be, and much harder than he thought it would be. But this battle was like nothing he had ever seen.

These pirates had no mercy. They crossed the stretch of ocean between the ships on boards and ropes and sprang immediately into action. Weapons clashed, bending met bending, and everyone was aiming to kill.

"I don't understand," Aang said in shock as he and Katara watched the battle, trying to keep at a distance while they judged their situation. "I thought this crew didn't kill unless they had to."

"That's just with civilians, I guess," Katara replied in hushed tones, gasping when she caught sight of Keely running a man through with both of her swords and moving on, remorseless.

"I think we might be in over our heads," Aang said darkly, his eyes falling upon the thirteen-year-old girl they had befriended fighting with a long knife in each fist, stabbing a man in the shoulder and shoving him overboard. "Wait… where's the Demon?"

The two of them looked around. There, surrounded by a mob of pirates from the other ship, was the Demon, whirling her staff around and delivering more than one blow to the head. Aang and Katara both jumped slightly when she pulled the staff in two, revealing the staff to actually be two long swords. The blades cut through the air fast as lightning, and four men fell at her feet in seconds.

Deadlier than an arrow to your head.

"We've befriended these people," Katara whispered. "And they're all…"

"Murderers," Aang finished for her.

"What do we do?" Katara asked grimly. "Helping them would just be aiding murder, and we can't do that. You're the Avatar, and I'm your… partner."

Aang glanced at her. She was blushing. He almost smiled, but this wasn't the time or the place. A bolt from a crossbow sunk into a pirate just a few yards away from them and he staggered, falling overboard. Aang spotted Robin on the other ship, dodging between blows and killing people so fast, they didn't even realize they were dead until they hit the deck. Aang began to feel sick.

But Katara was beginning to see the other side of it. The thirteen-year-old with the knives had been hit, a blade cut savagely across her back. She was crouched near the mast, teeth gritted and fists clenched, unable to stand. Her two friends, the brothers who weren't much older than her, had formed a protective wall in front of her, killing anyone who got too close. One of the brothers had an arrow protruding from his left arm, which hung limp at his side. Two of the twelve dead bodies Katara counted on the deck of the Shadow belonged to pirates she recognized.

"Aang…" she said quietly, grabbing onto his arm for support. "This is…" She trailed off.

"Like being back at the palace, isn't it?" he asked darkly. Her grip tightened on his arm. She had been thinking the same thing. Seeing all of this death brought them back to the invasion of the Fire Nation capital. People dying left and right, no room for mercy, kill or be killed. They had been haunted by these memories for two years, and they were right back where they started.

"We can't just… stand here…" Katara began uncertainly.

"But we can't do anything," Aang finished for her.

So they stood, side-by-side, Katara's grip on Aang's arm growing painful, and watched in dull horror as the war they thought was over continued before their eyes.

0000000

Keely grunted in pain as she carried Robin across a narrow wooden plank, half-supporting, half-dragging her back to the deck of the Shadow. The battle was over; they were victorious. But, as always, the price had been high. Higher than usual. Four casualties. They hadn't suffered a single casualty in nearly a year.

"Keel… Keely…" Robin muttered incoherently. "My head… hurts…"

Keely closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I know, Robin," she whispered. "We just need to get you back to the ship, and you'll be fine."

"Robin… like ash robins…" Robin murmured, eyes closing.

"Stay awake Robin," Keely said sharply, finally reaching the deck. This was what Keely hated about piracy. After the battles, she saw her family at its worst.

Dodger was still on the other ship, clumsily healing any of his injured crew mates he could find. Every single pirate from the other ship was dead. Not one had surrendered.

The Demon looked as though she hadn't been touched. She wasn't a healer, so she dealt with the bodies all over her ship. The four that belonged to her crew were laid neatly side-by-side in the bow and covered with a blanket. The bodies of the opposing crew were tossed overboard for the sharkwhales and dolphinsharks.

Katara was quietly healing any living pirate she came across, trying to ignore the fact that the deck was soaked with the blood of both sides. Aang wasn't sure what to do, so he started helping injured pirates cross back to the Shadow.

The work was quiet. The pirates who were in better shape and weren't healers were given the task of combing through the other ship's cargo, taking what they could.

Keely collapsed against the door of the captain's cabin, eyes drifting over the deck and taking it all in as emotionlessly as she could. She sat Robin up next to her and took a moment to breathe and assess her own injuries.

Cut across the arm from a waterbender. Cut across the shoulder from a sword. Two… maybe three broken ribs from a Water Tribe club. Deep gash running across both shins from another sword, this one with a very thick blade. She closed her eyes tightly, blocking out the pain, ignoring the blood running down her limbs.

She glanced at Robin. She had suffered a powerful blow to the head by the same club that got Keely in the ribs. Keely remembered killing that man with firebending because her swords had fallen from her hands when she felt her ribs break. Other than the lump on the back of her head, Robin looked unscathed. Until Keely noticed the burns on her right forearm. Keely closed her eyes again.

"Katara," she called, hating how weak her voice sounded.

Katara was kneeling before her moments later, as was Aang.

"Heal her, please," Keely said through gritted teeth, jerking her head toward Robin. Katara nodded and wordlessly set to work. She could feel Aang's eyes on her. "What?"

"You don't seem like murderers," Aang said bluntly. "Until today, you seemed like normal kids. Just like me and Katara."

"We're not bad people, Aang," Keely said firmly, staring determinedly skyward. "People see pirates as murderers and thieves, but that's not what we're about. We are about freedom. Look around you, Aang."

Aang glanced behind him at the devastation on deck.

"There are people down there from all three nations," Keely continued, her voice shaking slightly as a fresh wave of pain made itself known. "We don't see race or nationality or ethnicity when we look at people. When I look at you and Katara, I don't see an airbender and a waterbender. I see a boy and a girl."

Aang looked at her. She looked right back, defiantly holding his gaze.

"We're free from distinctions like that," she said. "We're free from the prejudice of boundaries and borders on land. Our only boundary is the horizon. We do what is necessary to hold onto freedom like that. All of the pirates we killed paid the price for their freedom, and we've paid the price for ours."

Katara was staring at her now too. She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth again until the pain subsided.

"We are not bad people," she repeated slowly. "We are free, and we are willing to sacrifice everything for it."

"Bad people…" Robin muttered as Katara finished healing her and laid her back gently on the deck so she could sleep.

Katara looked up at Keely. Some kind of understanding must have passed between the two of them, because she simply said, "Come on, your turn." Keely didn't protest. She leaned her head back against the door and waited for Katara to finish.

Aang sat back on his heels, absently watching Katara work. Keely justified taking lives by saying it was for freedom. Had that not been his excuse when he killed the Fire Lord? To free the rest of the world from the Fire Nation?

Suddenly, all of Aang's preconceived notions of good and bad people didn't make sense anymore.

And judging by the long glance he shared with Katara, she was having the same problem.

0000000

Robin sighed and opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was or how she had gotten there. The last thing she remembered was Keely getting hit hard in the ribs by a burly pirate with a club. Wherever she was now, however, wasn't so bad. She was warm and comfortable. Her head hurt terribly, but that didn't seem like too much of a problem.

She started to get her bearings. She was below deck in her hammock. But she wasn't alone.

"Dodger…" she sighed. He was holding onto her rather uncomfortably tightly, her back flush against his chest.

Robin jumped. Keely was suddenly crouching beside her hammock.

"Feeling better?" Keely whispered.

Robin wasn't sure how to respond.

"You got hit in the head, knocked you out cold. Katara healed you but you've been asleep for almost a day."

"How long has he been here?"

"A few hours. He's been healing people."

"What uh… should I do?"

Keely laughed lightly. "I have no experience in these matters, Robin," she whispered. "This is all you. Good luck though."

Keely strode away before Robin could get mad at her. Robin sighed again. She decided to remain still and let him sleep. She hesitantly rested a hand on his, which were crossed on her stomach.

After a few silent moments, she glanced up at the hammock next to hers. The young Avatar was sleeping soundly, turned on his side facing her. He had a rather sour look on his face. He was having a bad dream.

Robin heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the deck. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, but left them open just enough to see. Katara sat down on her own hammock on the other side of Aang's. She was looking at the Avatar with a tired expression.

"Aang? You awake?" she whispered. Robin saw the slightest change in Aang's expression when Katara's voice reached him. He relaxed, if only for a moment. She heard Katara sigh and get to her feet. She thought she was leaving, but to her surprise, Katara was crouched beside her hammock moments later. Unlike Keely, however, she was facing Aang, not Robin.

Robin watched curiously as Katara reached forward, running a hand through Aang's short bristly hair. The look on his face dissolved instantly into a smile. He opened his eyes and Katara smiled back.

"Hey," Katara whispered.

"Now I remember why I liked having hair," Aang yawned. Katara laughed. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"About eight hours," Katara replied gently.

"Why are you still awake, then?" he asked, sounding as though he was chastising her as he sat up.

"I've been healing people," she said, shrugging.

Aang got to his feet and lifted her off the ground, eliciting nothing more than a gasp of surprise from her. He dropped her into her hammock.

"Hey, that was totally uncalled for," she protested, trying to sit up. He put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

"Sleep, Katara," he said, sounding both serious and amused. "Please?"

She tried not to smile, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Fine," she sighed.

"Thank you," Aang replied. He pointed to his eyes, then to her. "I'm watching you." She rolled her eyes. He laughed as he walked up the stairs.

Robin smiled a little, hearing Katara sigh again. Dodger had mentioned something about him and Aang being kindred spirits. Now she understood why.


	10. Chapter 10

Oh em gee, drama.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 10 

The Demon looked out across the deck of her ship, appearing rather bored. It had been one day since the battle. The deck had been scrubbed, ridding all traces of blood. The other ship had been looted and set on fire, then left far behind. Through the combined efforts of Katara, Dodger, and the one other waterbender on board with healing abilities, most of the crew had been cured of their injuries.

All that was left were the memories, and the four empty hammocks below deck.

She sighed, frowning. On the bright side, the other ship had provided them a great deal of expensive cargo. And her plan involving the Avatar hadn't been damaged at all. In fact, the battle had served to move the plan along a little faster.

The Demon glanced down. Aang emerged from below deck, looking around and stretching.

"Aang," she called. He looked up. She was in the stern of the ship, leaning carelessly against the railing. "Get up here."

Aang did as he was told. "Yes, captain?"

The Demon leveled a shrewd look at him. "You and Katara didn't do much during the fight," she stated.

"We weren't ready," Aang muttered, looking down. "It wasn't what we expected."

"What did you expect?" the Demon asked coolly.

"You didn't kill everyone during the raid," Aang said darkly.

"Those were civilians," she replied with a shrug. "We were fighting other pirates this time. They don't show mercy, neither do we."

"But Keely… and all the others…" Aang continued slowly. "They seem so…"

"Normal?" the Demon laughed. Aang nodded. "It's an act, Aang. They're just trying to get on your good side."

Aang frowned. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I told them to," the Demon said, shrugging again.

"I don't understand," Aang said, beginning to sound angry.

"I'm teaching you a valuable lesson here, Aang," the Demon said in response. "Never trust a pirate, no matter how normal they seem."

Aang stared at her. She had just admitted one of the most deceitful things he had experienced outside of Fire Nation royalty, and she said it like she was discussing the weather. What happened to the laughing young woman he had sparred with just a few days ago?

"So that's it?" Aang growled. "You were just keeping us happy until we get to shore where you can pawn us off on some bounty hunter?"

"Basically, yeah," the Demon said, nodding.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Aang demanded.

"Because you could have helped," the Demon said coldly, looking past him at the quiet deck. "But you didn't. And now you're facing the consequences of disobeying."

"Consequences? What consequences?"

The Demon faced him, holding his gaze dangerously. "You are on a ship in the middle of the ocean surrounded by people you thought you could trust," she said, her voice freezing him more effectively than ice ever could. "If you rebel, if you try to escape, if you do anything at all to compromise my crew or my ship, I'll kill Katara personally."

Aang's stomach turned over and he began to feel violently sick. He clenched his fists in fury but didn't say a word.

"I was trying to treat you like a guest, Aang," the Demon said airily. "I tried to help you out. Make it easier. Tried to make you a pirate. But it didn't work, and now, you're a prisoner."

She walked away without another word. Aang stood perfectly still.

Katara was in danger.

He had to protect her. He had to keep her safe, keep her close. He had to have her nearby at all times.

He had to take some initiative.

0000000

The midday sun was blazing, and Aang was pacing back and forth in front of the mast. He had been for nearly three hours, ever since the Demon had locked herself in her cabin after issuing him a frightening ultimatum. He was driving himself crazy. Katara… she had made him promise… so she must have known what he was going to tell her. She must have wanted him to tell her… or maybe she thought it was something else entirely.

He stopped and banged his head on the mast.

The thirteen-year-old pirate, whose name Aang still didn't know, stopped her slow progress across the deck, staring at him. Despite Katara's best efforts, she was still in bandages. The cut had been long and deep, stretching all the way from her left shoulder to her right hip. She was having a little trouble walking.

"You okay, Aang?" she asked curiously.

He rested his forehead against the mast, staring angrily at the weathered wood. "I'm fine," he grumbled.

"Are you sure?" she pushed, sounding amused.

Aang glanced at her, but all he could see was her stabbing a man in the shoulder and pushing him into the unforgiving ocean. He looked away.

"I'm sure," he said darkly.

She was surprised by his tone, so she walked away.

Aang immediately felt guilty. He groaned in frustration and hit his head against the mast one more time. He shouldn't feel guilty. These people lied to them. They were only nice because they were ordered to be.

But he had more pressing issues to deal with. He had to protect Katara. He had to-

"Aang?"

He yanked his forehead away from the mast and whipped around. Katara was standing at the top of the stairs, looking at him in confusion. He broke into a sweat.

"Hey, Katara," he began, his voice cracking. For a moment, he had sounded like twelve-year-old Aang, which did nothing for his confidence. She smiled at him, looking both amused and curious as she took a few steps toward him

"Wait, don't move," he said quickly, and he jumped forward to stop her, grabbing her shoulders. She stopped, surprised, and he hastily dropped his hands to his sides. They stood facing each other for several moments.

"Aang?" Katara finally asked, confused. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Would you say I'm the kind of person who takes initiative?" Aang blurted. Katara stared at him.

"What?"

"Do I… you know… take initiative a lot?" he rambled on nervously.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied slowly. "I mean, you're usually the first to try new things…"

"Yes, you're right, I do take initiative a lot," he agreed, casting a contemplative look skyward. "But there's one thing that I can't do, Katara. I've been trying for ages to take initiative, but I just haven't been able to."

"Okay…" Katara prompted him after a few more moments of silence. He took a deep breath, staring at her.

"Until now," he said, exhaling loudly. He ceased to look crazed and instead looked a little shy. Much more like the Aang she was used to. "So… so here I am." He placed his hands hesitantly on her waist and tugged her closer. "Taking initiative."

Katara stared blankly at him for half a second, blushing at their proximity. Then, her eyes widened a little in comprehension and she whispered, "Oh."

She didn't get a chance to say anything else, because Aang chose that moment to lean forward and place a warm, cautious kiss on her lips. He pulled away before the shock had worn off and found her still staring at him. He held his breath nervously. She blushed after several long moments, and then, she did the most beautiful thing Aang had ever seen.

She smiled.

His heart skipped a beat. Or several.

A moment later she moved closer, rewarding his initiative with another kiss. This one was much slower, and she had to wrap her arms around his neck to steady herself. The action served the dual purpose of pulling him even closer and increasing the pressure on his lips, something he found he rather enjoyed. She tilted her head slightly to get closer, to get a better taste, and it occurred to him that he was kissing Katara.

He, Aang, was kissing Katara.

Not only that, but Katara was kissing back. Rather roughly, hungrily even. They had let this build up for too long. That was probably why neither of them was surprised in the slightest when, seconds later, he had Katara pinned against the door of the captain's cabin. He had barely noticed they were moving. She certainly wasn't protesting, anyway, as her fingers slid up the back of his head, brushing over the short bristles of hair covering his scalp and sending a shiver down his back.

They both pulled away for a moment, taking in a couple of gasping breaths, and they were back at it.

Luckily for them, none of the pirates seemed to notice. Either that or they just didn't care, which was more likely considering the young Avatar and his travelling companion had now been up against the door for a good five minutes.

Only when the sun burning on Aang's shoulders became oppressive did he pull away, taking several deep breaths. He looked at her and smiled. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes unfocused, her bandana had somehow been knocked askew, and Aang found himself rather surprised by the fact that he was the cause of all of it.

"So…" she said quietly between breaths. "What uh… did you want to tell me yesterday?"

Aang grinned. "I… uh…" he began, still trying to settle his lungs. But before he could continue, he was forced to turn around by the sound of a laugh behind him. Katara glanced over his shoulder, annoyed.

Keely was standing behind them, eyebrows raised, smirk firmly in place. "Wow," was all she said, eyes narrowing naturally.

Aang turned back to Katara, frustrated, and opened his mouth to continue. But Katara stopped him with a finger to his lips.

"It's okay," she said quietly, smiling. "I 'uh' you too."

It took a moment for Aang to understand, but when he did, he positively beamed at her. He couldn't believe it. Everything she did just made her seem more wonderful, and now, she was his.

"So how many public confessions of undying adoration has this ship witnessed in the past three days?" Keely asked no one in particular, pretending to think about it. "Guess it's been a good week."

"What do you want?" Aang asked sharply. Katara and Keely looked equally surprised. Aang backed away from her and turned around to face Keely. Katara stepped away from the wall and took Aang's hand.

"Aang?" she asked quietly.

Keely frowned. "What's the deal?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned despite her best efforts.

"You can drop the act," Aang replied darkly.

Keely's eyes widened.

Katara looked between the two of them. "Aang?" she repeated.

Aang squeezed her hand. "Come on," he said quietly, tugging her toward the stairs. "There's something I need to tell you."

Katara didn't argue. She followed Aang below deck, aware of Keely's eyes following them.

0000000

The Demon didn't turn around when Keely burst through the door of her cabin. Keely didn't seem to notice.

"Why did you tell him?" she shouted savagely.

The Demon looked disinterestedly at her nails. "Tell him what, Keely?" she asked calmly.

"You told him that you ordered us to get to know them," Keely growled through gritted teeth, clenching her fists. "Why?"

"Don't tell me you've grown fond of the little Avatar," the Demon said mockingly, glancing over her shoulder at her apprentice.

"He's hardly little, he's only two years younger than me," Keely snapped.

The Demon turned around fully, looking Keely dead in the eyes. "Just tell me the truth. Have you become friends with Aang and Katara?"

Keely cast a helpless glance around the room, biting her lip. "Yes," she finally muttered.

The Demon sighed a shook her head. "I was right about you, Keely," she said quietly. "You've got too much heart to be a pirate captain."

Keely stared at her. "What?" she breathed.

"You befriended captives," the Demon said levelly.

"You told me to!" Keely burst out in frustration.

"I told you to act," the Demon corrected. "You became attached."

Keely's eyes widened as comprehension dawned. "You never had a plan," she whispered. "You were testing me."

The Demon didn't respond. She just looked at her steadily.

"You were just waiting to find someone to capture," she continued, sounding mildly horrified. "It has nothing to do with the Avatar. They were just the first people we took as prisoners."

The Demon still didn't say a word. She just crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

Keely's jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed in anger. The Demon knew her well enough to know she was just narrowing her eyes so it was harder to see the tears.

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Keely laughed spitefully, her voice shaking slightly. "I actually trusted you. I thought you were my friend."

The Demon closed her eyes. "You can't trust pirates, Keely," she said quietly. "Lesson number one. I had hoped you would have learned it by now."

Keely turned on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her. The Demon didn't move for a while. When she did, it was merely to wipe her eyes on the back of her hand.

0000000

Katara was silent for a while after Aang relayed the Demon's words to her. They were both sitting in his hammock, one at each end, facing each other. Aang was in the lotus position and Katara had her knees drawn up to her chest as she stared thoughtfully at the ground.

"They were just… pretending," she finally said.

Aang nodded. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her since they had come below deck. He had taken a seat on his hammock, expecting her to sit on her own. But to his surprise, she sat down beside him on his own hammock. As he began to tell her what had happened, they both turned to face each other. Now their shins were pressed together rather uncomfortably, but neither complained. After all, why would they complain about being so close to each other?

Katara finally glanced up at him. He smiled a little.

"So if we try to escape, she'll…"

A dark look came over Aang's face and he looked down. "Yeah," was his only response. But suddenly, Katara's hands were on either side of his face and she was kissing him. It was just a light, gentle gesture, nothing like the kiss they shared on deck, but it served its purpose. When she pulled away, the smile was back on his face. She returned it.

"I'm not worried," she said quietly.

"Good," Aang replied, voice barely above a whisper.

"So is this why you suddenly decided to take initiative?" she asked with a smirk to rival Keely's. "You wanted to protect me?"

Aang smiled sheepishly. "You know me way too well," he muttered. "But I meant it all. It wasn't just… because I needed to or anything."

Katara smiled again. "I know," she replied simply. "But when you said 'I uh,' you did mean 'I love you,' right? Because that's what I meant."

Aang laughed a little, blushing. "I love you, Katara," he said quietly, leaning toward her.

"Well that certainly clarifies things," she murmured as their lips met again.


	11. Chapter 11

It's getting tough to use the internet safely with all these spoilers floating around. I've managed to avoid spoiling anything so far, so please don't.

On another note, ENCHANTED COMES OUT TODAY. I can't even tell you how excited I am, I'm going to see it like... ASAP.

On yet another note, I'm glad the previous chapter was enjoyed. So here's the next one.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 11

"I can't see him! The clouds are too thick!"

"Well I can't exactly see him either, Sokka!"

"Momo! Momo, can you hear me? Get back here!"

Toph and Sokka both shouted into the oppressive white fog. It had come rolling across the otherwise calm ocean barely ten minutes earlier, and Sokka had lost sight of Momo. Appa was finally back up and kicking, and they had left immediately. They had been flying for almost a day, following Momo. Who now seemed to have vanished.

"Momo, there you are!" Sokka shouted in relief as the lemur came soaring out of the fog like some kind of big-eared ghost. "You need to stay closer to Appa, okay? We can hardly see in this weather. Understand?"

The lemur just scratched one of his ears with his foot. Sokka sighed and tossed him back into the air. He did, however, seem to get the message, because he stayed much closer.

"Don't worry Sokka," Toph said suddenly. "We're going to find them, and they're going to be fine."

"Yeah, you're right, I know," Sokka replied, exhaling slowly as they soared deeper into the mountain of fog.

0000000

Robin yawned as she woke up for the second time. Dodger's arms were still wrapped around her waist. She must have fallen back to sleep. But it couldn't have been more than a few hours. She blinked and took a closer look at her surroundings.

Aang and Katara were sitting in the next hammock.

Kissing.

…Maybe it had been more than a few hours.

She sat up abruptly, causing Dodger to fall off the hammock. He swore loudly upon hitting the damp wood floor. Aang and Katara jerked apart, whipping around and staring at the disruption with wide eyes. Robin stared right back. Dodger appeared beside the hammock, rubbing his head, and stopped, looking between Aang, Katara, and Robin in confusion.

"Were you just…" Robin began, her voice not at all subtle for once.

"Yeah, so?" Katara replied hastily, eyes still wide. She and Robin stared at each other suspiciously. Robin glanced at Aang, who began to blush and shifted his gaze to Dodger.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Dodger asked bluntly.

"Nothing," the three of them said simultaneously. The silence that followed was deafening.

"Come on," Robin said suddenly, grabbing Dodger's arm and hauling him to his feet. She dragged him toward the stairs, but they never reached the deck. Keely came hurtling down the staircase and shoved the two of them into the empty galley, slamming the door behind them.

Aang and Katara exchanged a mystified glance.

0000000

"I was wrong," Keely burst out immediately upon closing the galley door. "I was wrong about her, I was wrong about this ship, I was wrong about everything."

"Keely?" Robin said quietly. That was usually enough to calm her down, but it didn't work this time.

"She lied to us. She never had a plan. She was testing me. She was just… just… using them, to mess with me. To trick me. I was stupid. I shouldn't have let myself… I shouldn't have trusted her, I never should have trusted any of them."

"Keely, what are you talking about?" Dodger asked as soon as she took a breath.

Keely stopped pacing and abruptly turned to face them.

"We have to get off this ship," she said fiercely. "As soon as possible. We can't… I can't… I can't be here anymore. Okay, so I have to get off this ship. You guys seem happy, you stay. But I'm going. I have to… I can't… I'm going."

"Why?" was all Dodger managed to say in his shock.

"I'm not meant for this," Keely continued edgily. "I'm not a captain, I'm not a crew member. I'm a stowaway, I'll always be a stowaway. It's what I'm good at. It's something I know I am really good at. And it's just us, just the three of us, there's no one to lie to us and use us and no one to trust. Just each other. And we can't… I can't… no one can trust anyone. Everybody lies, everybody lets you down. So I just have to… I just…" She stopped and ran her fingers up into her hair in frustration. "I have to go."

Robin and Dodger remained silent, not sure if she was finished. She sat down at long last, sighing heavily.

"Okay," Dodger said simply. "When do we leave?"

Keely looked up at them. "You… you're coming with me?" she asked, sounding much smaller than she was.

"Of course," Robin said quietly.

"We stick together," Dodger added. "All three of us. No matter what."

Keely looked at her feet, smiling. "Guys… thank you," she sighed.

"Don't get all soft on us, Keely," Dodger said sharply. "We need to figure out how we're getting out of here."

"Aang sent a note back to his friends the day we captured them," Keely said calmly. "Someone should be coming to rescue them any time now."

Dodger and Robin stared. "You never told the Demon?" Dodger asked, surprised.

Keely shook her head. "I figured she'd get mad at me," she growled. "I was such an idiot. Running around, doing whatever she told me, like I was a puppet or something."

Robin smiled. "No strings now, Keel," she said.

Keely smiled. "Never again," she agreed. "So all we have to do is convince Aang and Katara that we're actually their friends, which will probably be difficult since the Demon told them we were just pretending because she told us to."

"What?"

"Oh, right… well, have I got a story for you guys…"

0000000

"So she said we were prisoners?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are we still allowed to roam around the ship?"

Aang contemplated the question for a moment. "Are we?" he asked thoughtfully. "I mean… we haven't tried to go back up on deck since she told me."

"Are you willing to try?" Katara asked, smiling.

"Sure."

"Good, me too."

"No," Aang said quickly, stopping her as she began to stand. "You should stay here."

"Wrong," Katara said lightly, getting to her feet and pulling him up with her. "I'm much easier to protect when you can actually see me."

Aang opened his mouth to respond, but found he had nothing to say. She grinned at him and grabbed his arm.

"I trust you," she said lightly.

"I don't understand you at all," he sighed, grinning in spite of himself.

"You'll get there," she replied airily as the two of them reached the deck.

"Where do you think you're going?"

They stopped in their tracks. The two brothers were waiting just beyond the stairs, one sitting on the deck, the other leaning on the wall next to the cabin door. Aang and Katara had learned that one was called Bones, the other Arrow. Arrow had only recently gained his nickname. His real name was Lu Don, but after enduring an arrow in the arm for upwards of three hours to defend his crew mates, he had earned his new title.

"So what, we're not allowed on deck?" Aang asked bitterly.

The boys shook their heads.

"Nope, sorry, Aang," Bones said, sounding sincere. "The Demon told us not to let you."

"What did you do to piss her off so much?" Arrow snorted conversationally.

Aang didn't answer. Katara glanced at him. He was staring determinedly at the deck, jaw clenched. He looked as though he was grinding his teeth to prevent from snapping at them. Katara took him gently by the shoulders and pulled him back toward the stairs.

"We'll just be below deck, then," she sighed. The brothers exchanged a confused glance, but didn't say a word.

0000000

It was the cold that woke Toph. The cold that she thought they had left behind.

"Are we in more fog?" she asked, yawning.

"Yep," Sokka said, sounding as tired as she was. "It came in about an hour ago, right after sunrise."

She sat up and rubbed her arms, shivering. "I'm not used to this," she muttered through chattering teeth. "I wish I hadn't grown. I'm all tall and skinny… there's nothing here to keep me warm."

"Toph, you can't not grow up," Sokka sighed, scooting over to sit next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She huddled closer to his side, rubbing her hands together.

"Easy for you to say," she growled. "You grew up on a giant ice cube."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you're still short compared to the rest of us," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but you've all gotten taller too!" Toph snapped. "There's no point of reference here."

"What do you want me to do, then?"

"Tell me how to stay warm!"

"Okay," Sokka said after a thoughtful silence. "Get used to it."

"Gee, thanks," she sighed.

"We should catch the ship soon," he offered quietly, rubbing her arm a little. Toph noticed with some amusement that she would have blushed, had he done this a couple of years ago. But not anymore. Now, it was a force of habit for them. As Aang and Katara had gotten closer over the past two years, Sokka and Toph had naturally gravitated toward each other. It was more friendship than anything.

"It's been what… six days since they were captured?" Toph counted off on her fingers. "This is our second day of flying full speed. We should have them by about sunset, according to what that Kwei guy said about this ship."

Toph closed her eyes, head resting comfortably on Sokka's shoulder.

"You sleeping?" he asked after a few silent minutes.

"I would be if you would shut you trap."

"It's nice to have you around too, Toph."

0000000

Aang grinned when he woke up, a stupid thought crossing his mind. He was sleeping with Katara. He laughed a little. Of course, it was the literal definition of the phrase. He was just sleeping beside her, really. But he still couldn't quite get over the fact that he was in Katara's bed with her, his arms tight around her, her forehead resting against his chest as she slumbered on.

Suddenly, possessively, he pulled her closer and leaned forward, burying his face in her hair and taking a breath, drinking her in. He'd had dreams like this before. In those dreams, however, she hadn't been nearly this warm. Aang was usually rather cold, but he had been comfortably heated all night because of her. He smiled again when it occurred to him that he had a whole lifetime of warm nights and soft kisses ahead of him.

If they survived their stay on this pirate ship.

"I won't let anyone hurt you," he whispered. "I promise."

"Ditto," Katara sighed, making Aang jump slightly. She grinned into his chest, eyes still closed contentedly. "Morning."

"Morning," he replied with a smile.

"You know, I was just thinking…" she murmured, huddling closer to him. He tightened his hold on her accordingly. "We have a whole lifetime of nights like that ahead of us."

Aang closed his eyes, allowing himself to bask in the bliss of this moment. Keely had mentioned in passing that they were perfect for each other. She didn't know how right she was.

"Yeah, we do," he replied quietly.

"Did I ever just tell you that I love you?" Katara asked, her voice muffled in his shirt. "Because I'm not sure if I did."

"You kind of did," Aang replied with a smile.

"Well then… I love you," she sighed.

"I love you too," he said quietly.

"You know… we could just stay like this all day," she said, and he could feel her grinning again.

"Is that an invitation?"

"That's a command," she replied airily. "I don't think I've ever been this comfortable. Least of all in a hammock on a smelly pirate ship."

"Hey, it's not that smelly."

Neither Aang nor Katara moved from their position upon hearing Keely's voice. Katara frowned, snuggling further into Aang's chest. Aang bent his head to Katara's, glaring up in the general direction from which Keely's voice came. He caught sight of Robin and Dodger standing behind her.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice muffled in Katara's hair. It tickled, and she laughed into his shirt. He smiled.

"Look, Aang, Katara," Keely said quietly, an unfamiliar edge to her voice. "There's something you need to hear."

Katara sighed. "If I have to move, I don't want to hear it," she muttered. Aang laughed, and she felt it in his chest. She grinned.

"Ugh, this is so cute it's disgusting," Keely finally burst out. "Seriously. Please, just hear me out. You don't have to move."

There was a long silence. "Fine," Aang said finally.

"But you better hurry up," Katara added. "Aang is really warm and I'm gonna fall back to sleep soon."

Aang laughed. Dodger pretended to vomit.


	12. Chapter 12

Holy crap, guys. ENCHANTED? BEST. MOVIE. EVER. Seriously, I just want to go see it a bajillion more times.

Anyway, depressing lack of Avatar this week. So here's the next chapter. Arrr, bitches. That was me being a pirate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 12

Keely took a deep breath. She looked down at Aang and Katara, wrapped up together in Katara's hammock. Aang was watching her suspiciously. Katara still had her eyes closed, smiling gently into the young Avatar's chest.

She let out an exasperated breath, turning back to look at Robin and Dodger. "I can't," she muttered.

"Do it," Dodger said sternly.

Keely sighed and looked back at Aang and Katara. They hadn't moved. She bit her lip. Robin smirked in amusement.

"Alright, fine!" Keely burst out, making them all jump. "I'm s… s…" She ground her teeth for a moment, wincing. "I'm… sorry."

"Spirits, she actually said it," Dodger said, awestruck.

Robin just nodded silently, eyes wide.

Katara opened one eye, focusing intently on Keely for a moment.

"Did she just apologize?" she asked, her voice muffled in Aang's shirt.

"Sounded like it," Aang replied, mystified.

"Okay yeah very funny," Keely burst out, falling back into Aang's hammock. "Look, the Demon told me to get closer to you guys. So I did. But somewhere along the way, I started to consider you as friends. Okay?"

She was met with more silence. After a long pause, Aang began to sit up. Katara groaned in protest, but Aang just laughed and pulled her up with him. She looked distinctly annoyed when, a few moments later, the two of them sat facing Keely.

"Okay," Aang replied simply. "So what happens now?"

Keely glanced over at her friends. Robin gave her an encouraging smile.

"Well… your friends will be here soon, right?" Keely asked hesitantly.

"How would you know?" Katara asked, yawning.

"I saw you send a note out with your lemur the day we captured you," she replied, shrugging. "You think I didn't notice that little flying rat was gone?"

"Doesn't the Demon know?" Aang asked, ignoring the flying rat comment.

"I never told her about the lemur," Keely said, shrugging. "And now, I'm so done with her."

"So done?" Katara repeated.

"We're going back to being stowaways," Dodger answered. "The Demon tricked us. If we can't trust her, we're done with this ship."

"And you need me and my sky bison to get away," Aang finished for them. Katara yawned again.

"Pretty much," Keely replied simply. "So do you think we can put everything else aside and escape together?"

Aang shrugged. "Sure, why not," he sighed. "My sky bison was sick, though, so it could be any number of days until they get here."

"You know, I was wondering about that," Keely said, snapping her fingers as though she had finally figured something out. "If your friends had come after you right after they got that note, you guys would be long gone."

"Yep."

"Okay… that had been bugging me."

"Right."

"Seriously."

"I believe you, now can you go away? No offense, but you talk a lot, and we'd like to get more sleep," Aang said politely. Katara grinned. "We're not allowed on deck anymore, if I may remind you."

"Oh right," Keely muttered, getting to her feet. She glanced back at Robin and Dodger, but they were already on their way up. "We're going."

Katara and Aang watched them ascend the stairs. Silence followed them. Aang glanced at Katara. She met his gaze, smirking. Seconds later, her lips were hot on his, her hands in his hair, pulling him closer.

"All things considered, I am very relaxed right now," Aang muttered. Katara laughed, and he felt it more than he heard it.

"Me too," she replied, sparing as little time as possible talking. After several minutes, she managed to stop herself long enough to take a few breaths. "So are we really taking them on Appa when Sokka and Toph get here?"

"I think we kind of owe it to them," Aang admitted.

Katara tilted her head a little. "How so?" she asked, kissing him again and allowing herself just one more moment of indulgence before they started talking.

"Well," Aang began when her lips left his. "They did treat us very well, considering we're captives."

"That's true," Katara consented simply. "And I did get the feeling that they were actually our friends after a while. Keely probably wasn't lying about that."

Aang nodded. She began absently drumming her fingers on his shoulder, looking thoughtfully at her feet.

"I kind of thought they would have been here by now," Aang said quietly.

Katara looked up at him. "They'll be here soon," she said calmly. "Appa is fine, Sokka and Toph are fine, we're fine." She smiled. "Everything is alright."

"Except the whole death threat thing," Aang sighed, looking away from her. "If the Demon finds out we're planning on leaving, you know what she'll do."

"I'd like to see her try," Katara said with a smile.

"You're never going to take anything seriously again, are you?" Aang asked, smirking.

"Probably not," she sighed dramatically. "But why should I? I'm too happy to be serious."

"No matter how happy you are, there are things you should take seriously," Aang pointed out. "And this situation is one of them."

"Says the boy who wanted to ride giant koi fish instead of be the Avatar."

"Katara, please," Aang said, suddenly gripping her shoulders. "I don't want her to hurt you."

"You mean kill me?"

"Don't say that."

Katara looked at him in surprise. He was staring angrily at his knees, hands clenching painfully on her shoulders.

"Aang…"

"Don't ever talk about dying," he continued, his voice low and commanding, most unlike himself. It prompted Katara to fall entirely silent, wide eyes focused on him as though transfixed. "I don't know what I would do…"

He didn't finish, because Katara had pulled herself against him in a fierce embrace.

"I won't ever die if it means I can stay with you," she replied, voice strong even though it was muffled in his shoulder.

"Me either," Aang replied gently.

"So what are we going to do?" she asked softly after a long silence.

"Well… we have to take them with us," Aang replied with a sigh. "If we don't, they could tell the Demon that Sokka and Toph are coming, and she could make things very difficult for us. We're going to have to fight our way out of here anyway."

"I'll stay close to you," she murmured into his shirt. "I promise."

"They could be here any time," he said quietly. "We have to be ready."

"I know."

Aang sighed again, tired. "I have a feeling this is going to get very complicated very fast," he muttered.

"Probably," Katara replied calmly. "But we've dealt with complicated before."

Aang smiled. "So should we go up and see who our guards are now?" he asked, still sounding tired.

"Oh would you wake up already?" Katara laughed lightly. "It's almost noon."

Aang smirked at her rather dangerously, causing Katara's breath to catch in her throat. "Wake up, huh?" he asked slyly, his voice low and unfamiliar once again. He leaned toward her, hands tight on her waist and lips against her ear. "And what exactly do you suggest?"

"Whatever happened to checking who our guards are?" she murmured, eyes sliding shut.

"I think our guards can wait," he whispered. She reached a hand toward his shoulder, turning her head and waiting for the expected kiss. What happened next was not at all what she had expected. His lips, instead of finding hers, found her neck, and he started tickling her.

Their laughter echoed up the stairs where Dodger and Robin were standing guard. Keely had been assigned to scrub the deck by a stone-faced Demon, so she just happened to be scrubbing over near the stairs so she could talk to her friends.

"They're laughing," she said flatly.

"Yep," Robin replied simply.

"I just don't get it. The Demon threatened to kill Katara, how can they be down there laughing?" Keely muttered, sounding almost annoyed.

"I know what you mean," Dodger said thoughtfully. "There's something about their relationship that's just so simple. I mean… they admitted that they love each other, and everything just fell into place. No questions, no awkwardness, no confusion. They act like they've been a couple for years."

Robin smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Simple, yes," Keely agreed. "But there's something else about it that lends to that, you know? There's some really deep understanding or something… I can't quite figure it out. It's like they fit together perfectly. You can just look at them and you can tell that they'll spend the rest of their lives together."

"That's got to be nice, knowing something like that," Dodger said quietly.

"Yeah," Robin agreed. "To just have no doubts."

The three of them nodded.

"I don't see scrubbing," the Demon's voice barked from beyond her door.

Keely sighed, getting to her feet and tossing the brush into the bucket full of dirty water.

"Do you need some help?" Dodger asked quietly.

"No helping," the Demon shouted.

Keely groaned and stomped off, bucket in hand.

Robin and Dodger shared a glance. They both smiled. Robin leaned toward him, and they were about to kiss when the Demon's voice cut through the door again.

"No kissing."

Robin sighed, rolling her eyes.

Dodger gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Son of a-"

0000000

"What do you see?" Katara asked, her voice unsteady.

Aang glanced back at her. She looked distinctly flustered. Her face was flushed, two of her braids had come undone, the other two had somehow been tangled up in her bandana, and her shirt had been hiked up rather uncomfortably on her ribcage. Aang, apart from a similarly flushed face and messy hair, seemed wholly unaffected. Outwardly, anyway.

"Sunset," Aang replied, walking away from the port hole and returning to Katara's hammock. He sat down, and she turned to face him, pulling off her bandana and unraveling her two remaining braids. The salt water had shaped her hair into permanent kinks. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and started braiding it again, her hands moving as if on their own.

Aang couldn't seem to pull his eyes from her hands, and it was making him blush. He glanced up, meeting Katara's eyes. She was smirking at him, one eyebrow arched in a clear question.

"Um…" he began, embarrassed. "Sorry, I just… like your hands."

Katara laughed, still sounding breathless though she braided her hair with an enviable amount of poise. "That's not going to work," she said lowly. "I need to breath for a while."

Aang grinned at her. She rolled her eyes, tossing the first braid over her shoulder and starting on the next.

"Hey," Keely said as she came jumping down the stairs, landing neatly at the bottom with barely a sound. She looked appraisingly at the two of them. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh please," Katara sniffed. "We're on a pirate ship. I have standards, thank you."

Aang didn't seem to understand the conversation for several seconds. When he did, however, he blushed darkly and focused intently on the floor.

"Okay, with a reaction like that, I have no choice but to believe you," Keely said lightly, laughing. "But I digress. I have some news for the two of you."

"Do tell," Katara sighed disinterestedly, finishing her second braid and moving on to the third.

"Robin spotted something flying toward us from the east."

Aang and Katara both looked up at her sharply.

"Nobody else seems to have noticed yet, but they should be here within the hour," Keely continued calmly. "So I figure we should have some kind of plan."

"Right," Aang said immediately. Katara smiled, falling comfortably silent. She had to admit, she loved it when Aang took charge. She blushed at the double meaning of the thought and tried not to think about it. Luckily, neither Aang nor Keely seemed to notice. "Well… someone else will notice a giant flying bison pretty soon."

"So we'll have to fight," Aang sighed.

"All we know for sure is that no one will kill Aang," Keely said grimly. "But if given the order, any pirate on this ship will kill me, Dodger, Robin, or Katara."

"Not necessarily," Aang sighed. "The Demon said she'd kill Katara herself."

"Geez, aren't you two little rays of sunshine," Katara said, rolling her eyes. "We might not have to fight."

Aang smiled at her. "You have an idea," he said.

"I do indeed," she replied, grinning back. "We need a distraction. Something big enough to allow us to get off the ship as soon as possible."

"And go where?" Keely snorted.

"Uh, hello? I'm a master waterbender," Katara replied, pointing to herself. "The ocean is the safest place for us right now. Aang and I can make an ice raft or something."

"That sounds… cold and slippery," Keely said warily.

"We won't ride it all the way to shore," Katara snorted, rolling her eyes again. "We just need to get to Appa."

Aang smiled proudly. Keely nodded, impressed.

"Nicely done, Kat," she said with a grin. "So, distraction?"

"You're a firebender," Aang answered for her. "I'm sure you'll think of something."

"You want me to set the ship on fire?"

"Big fire."

"Oh, wow, now I like this idea even more."


	13. Chapter 13

Well, here's the last full chapter. There's an epilogue, but it's kind of short. So I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

* * *

CHAPTER 13

Keely stepped up beside Robin and Dodger fifteen minutes later, casting a glance to the east. Fog was rolling in behind the rapidly growing shape of Appa on the horizon.

"You guys ready?" Keely asked quietly.

"Yep," Dodger said simply.

"How much blasting jelly did you use, exactly?" Keely asked through her teeth.

"Enough to cause damage, not enough to sink the ship," he said quietly.

"Excellent," Keely said with a grin. "Well, no use being quiet about it anymore."

With that, Keely strode up the middle of the deck, skirting around the mast and snapping her fingers. She drew her arm back, fist blazing with fire, and shouted.

"Fire in the hole!"

0000000

Aang and Katara both jumped. The deck at the bow of the ship had just caved in, flames licking at the edges of the gaping hole.

"That's our cue," Aang said quickly, grabbing Katara's hand and racing for the stairs. The two of them burst onto the deck. Nobody seemed to notice, as the entire ship seemed to be in chaos. While the fire and waterbenders tried to douse the flames, Keely just kept making it worse. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

The two of them glanced around. Robin and Dodger were at the port side of the ship. Dodger was bent over the railing. He was already starting on the ice raft, and Robin was standing guard.

"There," Katara said suddenly, pointing. One of the brothers, Bones, had her water skin and Aang's glider strapped across his back. They seemed to be throwing him off balance as he tried to put out the fire. Apparently he was a waterbender.

"Keely, what are you doing?" one of the young pirates shouted.

"Just having some fun," Keely said with a shrug, unable to keep a delighted smile from her face. She was really enjoying setting fire to the ship, apparently.

"Got it, get on the raft, quick," Aang said hastily, running across the deck. He stepped up behind Bones and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around suddenly and Aang kept his back to him, unhooking Katara's water skin and then his own staff before Bones had even realized what happened. Aang ducked under his line of vision and started back toward Katara.

"Everybody freeze," the Demon's voice cut through the air.

The ship fell instantly silent. Everyone stopped moving and turned. The Demon was standing in front of her cabin door. But she wasn't alone.

Katara was caught in the Demon's grip, one of her swords pressed to the young waterbender's throat. To her credit, Katara was struggling all she could without cutting herself.

"Aang!" she shouted. The Demon tightened her arm around Katara's ribs, causing her feet to lift off the deck several inches. She gasped, trying to shout again, but fell silent.

The Demon's frigid gaze immediately found Aang's.

"I warned you, Aang," she said, her voice even and quiet. "I warned you, you didn't listen, and this is where we are."

Aang's hands tightened on his staff until his knuckles went white. Keely stood frozen in the bow.

"So," the Demon said lowly. "What happens next?"

Katara tried to speak again, but she couldn't get a big enough breath to do so. She was losing air, so she stopped struggling, hanging limp in the Demon's grip.

Aang took a step forward. "You put her down," he said lowly, his voice shaking with anger. "Or I swear I'll bring this ship to the ocean floor."

"Go ahead," the Demon said, shrugging. "I'm waiting."

Aang started breathing heavily, hearing nothing but his pulse in his ears. Robin and Dodger watched silently, unsure of what to do.

"Let her go."

The Demon smiled a little. "Well hello there, Keely," she said, speaking as though to a testy child. "I notice you set my ship on fire."

Keely took up a space of deck beside Aang, fists clenched at her sides and smoking slightly. "Let her go," she repeated. "It's over. You win. I'm not meant to be a captain, I get it. You've had your fun. Now Aang and Katara are leaving, and we're going with them. So just let her go."

"How about this," the Demon said casually, eyes boring into Keely's. "I'll let her go. They'll leave. But you three stay here, work off your debt to me. That sounds reasonable."

"No," Keely said instantly. "You will let her go, and we will leave. Because if I listen to you, it's just going to come back and bite me in the ass."

The Demon tilted her head slightly. "You don't trust me?" she asked lightly.

"No," Keely snapped.

The silence stretched across the ship's deck. Aang was about to snap.

The Demon sheathed her swords, strapping the staff across her back. She released Katara without a word. Katara dropped roughly onto her feet and ran immediately to Aang's arms, not even sparing a glance back at the captain.

"That's… that's it?" Keely asked, not even trying to hide the surprise in her voice.

The Demon shrugged, smirking. Aang stared at her over Katara's shoulder. She looked younger, somehow. Much more like the pirate he had dueled six days ago. She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping a bare foot on the deck.

"I give you… say… a ten-second head start," she said lightly.

Every pair of eyes on the ship was fixed on her in shock. Aang's mouth fell open.

"Buh…" was all Keely managed in a rare moment of speechlessness.

"Nine, eight," the Demon said loudly.

Robin was the first to get her bearings back. She walked purposefully to the center of the deck, grabbed Keely around the waist, and hauled her over her shoulder with strength that didn't fit her size.

"Let's go, shall we?" she said primly, marching over to where Dodger was still standing rooted to the deck.

Katara, still trying to regain a regular breathing pattern, gave Aang a helpful shove in the right direction. He was still standing with his mouth hanging open.

"Five, four," the Demon counted loudly, but by the time she reached three, all five young pirates had disappeared over the railing.

"You weren't really going to kill Katara, were you?" Arrow asked quietly, coming up beside the Demon.

"Of course not," the Demon said calmly. "She's an innocent. We never kill innocents."

"So what was that all about?"

The Demon looked over at him with a grin. "Well, little bro, I believe that was about getting Keely, Robin, and Dodger off of this ship," she replied simply, watching the ice raft drift out behind the ship toward the ever-nearing bison.

"Did you hate her that much?" Bones asked sarcastically as he too approached her.

"Please," the Demon snorted. "You know they don't belong here. We're pirates because we have to be. They're pirates because they want to be. They need to be able to get out, and if they're part of a crew, they can't get out."

"Keely was right about one thing, though," Arrow pointed out, glancing at his older sister. "We aren't bad people."

"True," the Demon consented. "But this freedom does give us plenty of time to become said bad people."

"I suppose we should get to it then," Bones sighed. "And don't call me little bro."

"I didn't call you little bro, I called him little bro," she replied, gesturing to their brother. "You're the one always telling me to stop lumping you together because you're twins."

Bones opened his mouth to respond, but she beat him to the chase.

"Alright people, get moving," she shouted. "We need to reach the Fire Nation as soon as possible and uh… make some repairs. So let's go!"

The deck was immediately a flurry of activity. The Demon smiled.

"Besides," she said quietly, glancing back at her brothers. "They'll come back and visit soon enough. You know them."

"Yeah," Arrow sighed. "She learned her lesson, anyway. Never trust a pirate. Unless they're family."

"Dude, you still can't trust me," the Demon snorted, kicking the back of one of his knees with her heel and causing him to crumple forward. Bones burst out laughing. She tripped him. "Not so funny now, is it?" She laughed. "Now get your asses up and get to work, I wasn't kidding about getting to the Fire Nation fast."

With that, the Demon walked back into her cabin to do some quick navigating while the rest of the crew moved to repair the ship enough to get to land.

The Demon glanced out of the rear port hole. The sky bison was landing in the water far to the east. She smiled.

0000000

"I'm so sorry."

"Aang…"

"I shouldn't have done anything, I should have just waited."

"Aang."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry-"

"Aang!"

Aang stopped and glanced at Katara. She was smiling indulgently, waiting for him to stop. She pulled him against her in a gentle embrace.

"None of this is your fault," she said quietly. "Everything is alright."

"I was scared…" he admitted in barely more than a whisper. "What if she had…"

"She didn't," Katara whispered soothingly, fingers tickling the hair at the back of his neck. "Like I said, I'll never die if I can stay with you."

Keely was lying sprawled beside them, the ice freezing against her back as she stared skyward.

"She tricked me again," she said flatly.

"Don't be such a drama queen," Dodger yawned.

"She did, don't even pretend she didn't," Keely snapped. She sighed moments later. "She was trying to protect us. All three of us."

"Yeah I kind of figured that out toward the very end there…" Dodger muttered.

"We all did," Robin added.

"Well… we're better off," Keely said lightly, still gazing thoughtfully at the sky as dusty-looking stars faded into view.

"Agreed," Dodger said quietly.

"Hey!"

The five of them looked over. A giant flying bison splashed into the sea beside them, Sokka waving wildly from his head.

"Looks like our ride's here," Katara said with a smile.

Aang leapt to his feet and scooped Katara into his arms, eliciting a shriek of surprise, and jumped up onto Appa's back with help from some clever airbending.

"Nice of you guys to join us," Aang said to Sokka and Toph, smirking.

Sokka jumped back into the saddle, pulling his sister into a bone-crushing hug. "Don't ever scare us like that again," he growled.

"We'll try not to," Katara laughed, making a few vain attempts to disentangle herself from him.

Aang bent out of the saddle to help the three new additions up onto the bison's back.

"Whoa, who are these people?" Toph said suddenly.

Aang and Katara shared a glance. They both smiled.

"Right, well, we have quite a story to tell you guys…"

0000000

"Kwan, Kwan look!"

Kwan sighed and sat up. "What is it, Lin?"

"The Avatar is back! They made it back!"

Kwan jumped up and raced to the window. "You're right! Dad!"

The two of them raced into the street. "Dad, the Avatar is back!"

A crowd was already assembling in town. Kwan and Lin pushed their way to the front as the sky bison touched down. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all leapt down from the saddle.

"Avatar Aang, Lady Katara! You're alive!" Lin shouted, racing forward and hugging Katara's knees. The young waterbender laughed and picked her up, returning the hug.

"Whoa, Avatar Aang, you have hair!" Kwan said, amazed. His hair had grown just enough to cover his arrow tattoos.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, I really need to shave," he muttered, running a hand over his head.

"You guys look like pirates!" Lin said, deeply impressed.

"Okay kids, give them a chance to breathe," Kwei said as he emerged from the throng. He took Lin from Katara's arms and placed a hand on Kwan's shoulder. "It's good to see you're all safe."

"Likewise," Aang said, smiling. The town was still doing repairs, but it looked much better than it had six days previously.

"Hey, where did those pirates go?" Sokka asked suddenly, looking around.

"Oh they snuck off the second we touched down," Toph replied calmly.

"They what?" Katara and Aang asked in unison, looking around wildly.

"They're gone," Toph said loudly.

"Oh, that's too bad," Aang sighed. "We didn't get to say goodbye."

"That's okay," Katara said quietly. "I didn't really expect them to stick around."

"True."

Katara smiled at him. "So are we done being pirates?"

Aang shrugged, smirking. "For now, I guess."

She laughed and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him into a kiss. Only then did they remember that they had an audience.

A great "Oooooh" rose from the crowd, Toph burst out laughing, and Sokka shouted "Whoa whoa whoa, what is this?!"

Keely, Robin, and Dodger, watching from the roof of a house not too far away, laughed lightly.

Keely elbowed Dodger. "Wow, she was right, he is just like you."


	14. Chapter 14

_Here it is. The epilogue. It's very short, but it kind of wraps things up a little I think. Mindless fluff, by the way._

_Just remember, each happy ending is a brand new beginning._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar_

* * *

CHAPTER 14

"Aang! Hey, Aang!"

The young Avatar stopped earthbending and looked over. Katara was racing toward him, a scroll in her hand and a smile on her face. The two of them had been living together at the Southern Air Temple for nearly a year while Aang used all of his bending prowess to repair the ruined sanctuary. So far, he had done a lovely job. Every day, the temple became more like a home for the young lovers.

Aang grinned and caught her around the waist, spinning her in a quick circle and kissing her by way of greeting. She laughed, grabbing his shoulders to steady herself.

"What's up?" he asked, wiping his sweaty forehead. He had been doing some strenuous earthbending. She grinned.

"We just got a messenger hawk," she replied. "We've been invited to a wedding."

Aang quirked an eyebrow at her in surprise. "By who?"

"Dodger and Robin. They're getting married!"

Aang laughed. "Wow, we haven't seen them in…"

"Three years," Katara finished for him. "Since we helped them escape the Shadow. But that's exactly where they're going."

"What?"

"They're getting married on the Raven's Shadow."

Aang laughed again, shaking his head. "Life is funny sometimes."

"Especially our life," Katara sighed, though she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

He pulled her into a kiss. "I love it when you say that," he murmured against her lips.

"When I say what?" she laughed.

"Our life."

"Yeah, I like it too."

"So do you think we should go?"

Katara pulled back and looked at him thoughtfully, settling herself more comfortably in his arms. "I think we should," she said with a smile. "It'll be nice to see the crew again, even though they were trying to kill me the last time we saw them."

Aang laughed lightly. "Very true. Besides, we never really got a chance to thank them," he pointed out. "Without those pirates, it would have taken me a lot longer to take some initiative."

"How much longer?" she asked slyly, smirking and tugging him a little closer.

"Well… maybe not that much," Aang admitted with a grin. "You're kind of hard to resist."

"Good to know."

"So when is it?"

"We have to get to Port Zian in three weeks."

"Oh good, we can visit Kwei and his kids!"

Katara smiled indulgently, nodding. "So does this mean we'll have to invite a load of pirates to our wedding?"

"Would that be such a bad thing?" Aang asked, grinning. "They would make things more exciting."

Katara closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, laughing lightly. "I love you," she sighed.

"I love you too," he replied with a smile.

"You know what it means if we go to this wedding," Katara asked suddenly, the mischief obvious in everything from her voice to her smile.

"What?" he asked, smirking.

"We get to be pirates again."

Aang grinned, spinning her around again and pinning her against the wall behind her. "Us, outlaws?" he asked lowly, their breath mingling as he leaned closer. "I look forward to it."

She pulled him in the last few inches, murmuring, "Me too."

THE END


End file.
